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I
PRESENTED TO
THE X.IBR.iLH,ir
UXn'ERSlTY'OF MICHIGAN'
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SB
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THIRTY-THIRD ANNUAL REPORT
State Horticultural Society
or
MISSOURI
1890
HELD AT CLINTOS, MO., DEC. 2, 3 AND 4, 1890.
L. A. GOODMAN,
HedeUry, WeatpoM, Ho,
JEPFEBSON CITY, MO.:
TBtBDMI PRIMTtHa OOMPAKT, 8TATB PKIKTIBS AHD BIHDBBB.
1881.
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MISSOUBr STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
To Hit Exetllmey, David E. Fbamcib :
TbU report of our sooietj work, of tbe meetlnge held, of the mODeys expended, and of tbe local aocieties and coQDtleB reporting for tbe fear 1800, la respectfallf submitted. L. A. GoodUjiN. Secretary,
TTestport, Uo., 1690.
City of Jrffbbson, Not. 26, 1890. To the CammUiioneri ofPublit Printing .■
I require for use of Horticultural Society 3,000 copies of Report of State Hor- ticultural Society, 1,000 copies bound In cloth, S,000 In paper, which I desire printed as per acconipaDylDg sample. Respectfully,
L. A. QooDUAM, Approved : State Secretary.
OFFICERS FOB THE YEAR 1890.
N. F. MUBBAY, Oregon.
SBCBCTART,
L. A. GOODMAN, Westport.
LIST OF HONORARY MEMBERS.
QeOFg« Haisman Mapa, Cal
T. T. Ljon Soutb H«v«D, Mlob.
C. W. Hurtfcldt Eirkvood, Mo
Hon. X. J. Colman St. LooIe, Mo
LIST OF LIFE MEMBERS.
J. C. EvKns Harleni.. ..
h. A. GoodmKD Weatport . .
D. M. Dunl&p FuItOQ
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STANDIKG COMMITTEES.
W. G.Gano, Oldeni CnASLEB Pattehsox, KlrkBTlUa; Henuy Sms, Butler.
Fiiutoriff. Q. E. Meiskneh, BnihbnrBi Jacob Rohuel , Uocrlgon; C, Tgcbxeii, LexlngCOD.
SmaU Fniti. 8. H1LL2H, BlDfftOni J, N. Uehifee, Oregon; Henht Bcbnell. GImcow,
Stcae FrvU: a. W. HorKiHS, SprtuKaeld; T. A. Eitbbabd, Cartbige; J. A. lioajkS, Nevidk,
riftlaUa, Piof. J. VI, Clabe, Colnmbla; W. A. dHii-iT, BoohtUIB) J. A. Duuees, Weiiton.
H. NiBLeoH, St. Joupbt R. 8. Bhown, Kuiu City; Ida Cuohe, Datln-,
Ornameatalt . rial. U. Q. Kxas, 8t. Lonlai Un. C. 1. Sobahd!I. BnUeri R. E Bailbt. FoIMd.
EiUiiiiio(«iriF.
Ulat U. E. llUBTriLDT, Klikwoodi Dr. A. Qoai.ix, Otegoa; J. O. Kis'deb, KeTBd».
Prof. H. W. Spe
Si/mtniilaliirt. X. W. OAtiXT, Mai^Tlllei J. B. WiLi>, aarooiiSi A. Ambrurk, NeTBd*.
Kit Fndlt. V. LiontEBOBH, Uiij;dj A. H. Gileeson, Wkminabiurg; W. P. Stahii, LoolBiBua.
Omilliologti . Clabk Ibvime, OragDn; <;. W. Murtpkldt, Klrkwood; W. H. Tuuti.tr<, Lb Qrangt.
IHfarlout nnffi. B. T. Qallowav, WuliiastOD, D. C.i Ptol. W. Tbelease, 81. Loait.
PaeMng and ilarttUag Frvil:
£. T. HoLLigTEB, St. Lonlt; C. C, Bei.l, BoodvUIb; 0. Tqokp, Westoa.
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CONSTITUTION
MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Artici.1 I. This Auoolatton shall be knoirn aa tbe MUsonrl State HortloaU tuntl Soctet7 . Its object ab&U b« the promotioo of hortlonltnre in all f ta branches.
AxT. IE. Any person may become a member of this society upon the payment of one dollar, and membership shsll oontloue upon the payment of one dollar annually. The payment of tea dollars at any one time shall eonstitnte a person a lift member, and honorary members may be elected at any regular meeting of the society. And any lady may become a memtier by giving her name to the secre- tary.
Akt. ni. The olBcers of this society shall consist of a president, vice-presi- dent, a secretary and a treaflurer, who shall be elected by ballot at each regnlar Annoal meeting, and whose terms of office shall begin on the first day of Jane fol- lowing their election.
Art. IV. Tbe elective ofOcers of* this society shall constitute an exeontlve oommittee, at any meeting of which a majority of the members shall hare power to transact business. The other duties of the ofBoera shall be such as nsaally pertain to the same offlcers of similar organ tEations.
Art. V. The regular meetings of this society shaD be held annually on the first Tuesday In December, except wbea otherwise ordered by the executive com- mittee. Special meetings of the society may be called by the executive committee, and meetings of the committee by tlie president and secretary.
Art. VI. As (oon &fter each regular annual meeting as possible, the president ■hall appoint the following standing committees, and they shall be required to give a report in writing, under their respective heads, at the annual and semi-annual meetings of the society, of what trsnEplrea during the year of Interest to tbe society : Orchards, Vineyards, Stone Prnlts, Small Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, Ornamentals, Entomology, Ornithology. Botany, NooieDclature, New Fralts, Injurious Fungi, Paelcing and Marketing Fruit.
Art. VII. Tills oonstltntlon may be amended by a two-thirds vote of tbe members present at any regular meeting.
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LIST OF COUNTY SOCIETIES.
Adair County Horticultural Society—
S. H. Braibear, President, Kltkavllle.
Cbas. Patterson, Hecietary, ' ' Atohtson County Horttcnitnral Society —
C. W. Coe, Pres't, Tarkio.
R.Lynn, Reo'y, " Barry Connty Horticultural Society—
M. H. Roberts, Pres't, Oolden.
G. G. James, See'y, Exeter. Bates County Hortlenltural Society-
C. I. Robards, Pres't, Butler.
Henry Speer, Seo'y, ' ' Barton County Hortlonltral Society-
C. H. Fink, Pres't, Lamar.
D. B. Hayea, See'y. " BnobanoD Co. Horticultural Society- Hans Nlelson, Pres't, St. JoMpb.
C. UcKann, Sec'y, '• Butler County Hortlonltnral Society—
D. C. EltterldKe, Pres't, Poplar Bluff.
E. R. Lentz, Hec'y, >■ Camden County Horticultural Society—
J. W. Borhang, Pres't, Stontland. J. D. Ueagan, Seo'y, "
Cooper County Horticultural Society— H. H. Myers, Pres't, Boonrllle.
C. C. BeU, Sec'y, "
Greene Connty Horticultural Society— G. W. Hopkins, Pres't, Sprlogfleld.
D. S. Holman, Sec'y, " Henry County Horticultural Society —
M. L. Bonbam. Pres't, Clinton.
J. M. PcetzDiger. ^ec'y, " Holt County Horticultural Society—
N. F. Murray, Pres't. Elm GrOYe.
W. R. Laughlin, Seo'y, ■' Mound City Uortloultural Society—
D. B. Browning, Pres't, Mound City.
J. M. Hasness, Sec'y, "
Howell County Horticultural Society—
Pres't, Olden.
Will George.Sec'y, "
.Tasper County Horticultural Society—
B. Ball, Pres't, Carthage.
F. A. Hubbard, Sec'y, Cartbage. Trl-county Horticultural Society—
Jobn Harlan, Prea't, Sarcoxle.
J. M, Rice, See'y, "
Lafayette Co. Horticultural Society—
Dr. W. A. Gordon, Pres't, Lexington.
C. Teubner, Sec'y, " Laclede County Horticultural Society^
A. Nelson, Pres't, Lebsnon.
E. B. Kellerman. Sec'y, Letianon. Linn County Horticultural Society- Ralph Smith, Pres't. Brookfield. G.W.Martin, Sec'y,
MercerCounty HorilcuItuTal Society- R. J. Lewis, Pres't, Princeton. ■I. A. Kennedy, Sec'y, Ravenna.
Montgomery Co Horticultural Society—
F. Qutmann, Prest, Hugo. C. Hauaeer, (jec'y, "
Pettis Connty Sorttoaltnral Sooletp— O. W. Parish, Pres't, SedalU. L. T. Kirk, Sec'y, ■*
Polk County Horticultural Society—
G. W. Williams, Pres't, Huraansville. .J. L. Strader. Sec'y, "
Phelps County Horticultural Society —
Robt. Merriwether, Pres't, Rolla.
W. W. Soutbgate, Sec'y, "
Kipley County Ilorlicultursl Society—
J. G. Hancock, Pres't, Doniphan.
T. W. Mabrey, Hec'y, "
Vernon County Hortlenltural Society—
A Ambrose. Pres't, Nevada.
J. G. Kinder, Sec'y, " Missouri Vslley Horticultural Society—
J. C. Evans, Pres't, Harlem, Mo.
G. E. Rose. .Seo'y, Rosedale, Kas,
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OF TBS
MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
HELD AT POPLAR BLUFF, JUNE 3-4-5, 1890.
Tdebdat, Jane 3, 8 p. u. Society called to order by President J. C. Evans. Opened with pra;er by C. W. Martfeldt.
ADDBBSB OP WBLCOHB.
E. R. Lkntz, roplar Blaff. Ut. Prttuittii and Ladia and OentUmen:
On behalf of tbe cItlzeDB of the oltf of PopUr Blnff and Butler couotf, It it mj privilege, or, well kh mj pleasure, to extend to jou, tbe officers and members of the HlHsonrl State HortlcuUnral Sooietj, and to you, gentlemen, vho are not tnem- ben of Bald society, but wbo are here as vleitorB and Interested spectators of tbe proceedings of this t)ody, ttae earnest and heartfelt welcome of the good people of this city aod coantj. We welcome you to out midst, to our city and to our homes, and It is the earnest wish of every oittzen of Poplar Bluff that your stay among ua may t>e both pleasant and profitable; and let nie say here, that It will be the aim and desire of onr people to make your stay with us, at least pleasant, although we cannot promise you that we will be able to make It profitable to you. Yet we shall do onr best, and gather for ourselTea whatever there may be of profit from your meeting with us.
This Is the first meeting, so far as I am aware, gentlemen, which your society has erer held in Southeast Hiasourl. And It seems to me peculiarly fitting and ap- propriate that your society should become more fully and intimately acquainted with the capabilities of this section of the State as a fruit-growing region. And I may say, gentlemen, that its capabilities need only be known lo l>e appreciated.
While It Ie true that as yet there has been but little done In the way of devel- oping this Important branch of the agriculture of tbe State, yet enough has been done to show the wonderful adaptability of our section of the State to the growing of aTcry large list of fruits. Probably In no section ot the State can so many varieties of fruits be so successfully grown as In that portion lying to the south and east of the Ozark ranee of mountains.
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8 STATE HORTICULTURAL 800IBTY.
Here Kr« annuftll; grown some of the flneet apples th&t the countiy prodnoee, and wbll« It Is true that the greater part of the apples rataed in thta oommnnity are Inferior In size, quality and flavor, yet the raagnlflcont speclmenH that we see e&cli year grown In onr verj mldat show what can be done by Judicious and tboroagh cultlTation.
And need I say the peach Hods here Its nataral home nnd attains its greatest perTection. [f any of yon gentlemen have any doubts on this subject, I would only ask you to take a trip tbroogb old Butler, Stoddard, Hisslsstppl.or lodeed any of the counties of ^utbeast Mlsaonrl, In the early fall, and behold the magnificent rosy- . cheeked peaches that he will every where find, and taste the delicious flavorthereof, and I Aouht not the most skeptical will be ready to concede that he Is in the land where this delloloug fruit attains to its greatest perfeotion.
Bnt ft must not be supposed that all the peaches that are grown in Bontbeast Miasouri are of the magnlflcent qualities and proportions that we have been talking of, for it must be borne in mind that we have a great many careless and Indifferent farmers in this part of the Stale who pay very little attention to the kind of vari- etlee that they plant, and hence moch of tbe tialt grown here Is Inferior In size, quality and flavor. But in almost every community will be found those who have taken great pains in the selection of varieties, and with them we again seethe scriptural saying fulQUed, ''By their rrulta ye ehall know them^" and these have demonstrated beyond the possIbUlty of a doubt that Southeast Hissouri wilt In the near future be second to no country on the face of this broad continent In the growing of this delicious fruit.
Then again, the experiments recently made In the culture of the pear give promise that this sectI<Mi will In the near future be equaled only by California. To a limited extent acme varieties of the pear have been cultivated here for many ye&rs. and so far as I am aware there has not in twenty years been an entire failure of pear crop nor a single case of blight reported In this section. While la the last few years experiments In the growing of the dlSbrent varieties of the pe&r have all been attended with unprecedented success, sufilclent to astonish even the most enthusiastic. Within the last three years pears of the Duchess DeAngonleme variety have been raised In this county, and within one tnlle of tbU bouse, meas- uring 14} inches In circumference and weighing more than two pounds, perfect and regular in shape and ;of exquisite flavor. Many other varieties have done equally well.
The plum, the apricot and tbe nectarine And in our soil, climate and surround- ings a congenial home, and sufficient has already been done to assure the success of these fruits In our soil and cltinate.
In the way of small fruits, also, this country excels. Do you ask whether the blackberry will do well here ? 1 point you to the fact that nearly the whole sur- foce of the lower portion of our county is covered witb wild blackberry busbea, and hundreds and thousands of bushels of these berries are annually grown in this region as tbe natural and spontaneous growth of the virgin soil, and many of these are almost equal In size, quality and flavor to tbeKlttatlnny or tbe Lawton. This tells the tale and shows that this is the natural home of the blackberry, and where the wild berry grows bo Imurlantly and yields such a. bountiful harvest, the culti- vated varieties must aleo succeed equally well.
You ask again, will the strawberry do well here ? Need I do more than call attention to the magnlScent specimens that we have before us to-day? and then say that nowhere in all the broad expanse of the State of Missouri can be found a more Inviting fleld for the raising of this delicious berry than Is to be found here In southeast Missouri.
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SUHMKB MEETIMG A.T POPLAR BLCFF. 9
Theraapbeiry, the goweb^rry, the gT»po and the cherry have all done aplendldly wherever tried. And Indeed it would be liiird to Dame any of the many kloda of fmlta aod beirlea that can be anoceBsfull; grown anywhere In tbe temperate zone that cannot be ancoeiiflfDlly grown here.
Now, gentlemen, I will not further weary yon with detailing to yon tbe capa- bilities and possibiUtleB of tbia much-favored section of our great com moD wealth.
But I cannot refrain bom an attempt at leaat to disabuse jour minds of the idea that seems to prevail In moat parts of the State that there la nothing In Soatb- «ast Uisaourl bnt hills, rocks and swampe. Time and again have we heard it said, even by men of learning and intelligence, that there Is not dry ground enough In all Boatheaat Hlssourl to make a decent garden spot, and that tbe uplands are aU flint-rock hills and so atterly destitute of vegetation that a goat would starve to death. And 1 have even heard of a Methodist preacher over in Ohio, who. In all sincerity and candor, asked of one of our people whether It was really true that the place «all«d MIgger Wool swamp over east of here wassocalled because they uacd to kill Diggers and throw them in there.
The Ignorance and credulity of thla man are only equaled by the audacity and otter UD truthfulness of the Kanaaa immigration agent who, while np In Michigan, waa asked about Ironton, HlBsnnrl, by some one who had heard something about the place, when he replied that It was away out tn the swamps of Southeast Mla- sonrt, was situated on a little hill and was surrounded by ten feet of water.
These, gentlemen, and many others, are the kind of Ideas that very many of the Inhabitants of even our own State ieem to have about Southeast Missouri ; «nd really the credulity of some of these people is unbounded.
Now what are the facts ? We do not pretend to deny that we have some flint- Tock hllla in thla section of the State, and we have some lands that by a forced oon- atmction of the word might be called swamp, but that there Is nothing else here, -or that these lands form even any conalderable portion of our section, we deny moat empbatloaily.
(3o with me if yon please to the splendid farms of Stoddard, Scott and Cape Qirardeau counties, which are now decorated with flelda of waving grain almost ready for the harvest, to tbe great melon and corn fields of Mississippi, the rich gttia ADd cotton lands ol New Madrid and Dunklin counties, and even tbe dlverai- fled crape of onr own county, and behold all theae and then ask yourselves whether there la nothing else than rocks and swampa in Southeast Hlesonti. Oo with me again to these conntiea and see the rapid strides that are being made in the way of cleariogr ii'i'^ <!B"VBm"S into flue forms, and see the magnificent crops of golden grain that are annually grown on the so-called swamps of Southeast HlsBourl, and I doubt not, gentlemen, that you will be ready tosay with us that our section of the State hftB been grossly and outrageously slandered, and that the mythical swamps, the great bugaboo of intending settlers, exists only in name. In no section of our State does the aolt respond more readily to tbe touch of honest toll. In no section or tbe State Is tbe sturdy tiller of the aoll more sore of a rich reward year after year than here, [n no section of the State can the necessaries of life, as well as the comforts, and even the luxuries, be so easily and cheaply obtained as here. In no section of the State does the star of promise eblne more brightly than In tbla. It Is destined in future years to be the banner section of Missouri,
Gentlemen , It Is to a county such as thla, and to a young and prosperous city, peopled with a generous and warm-bearted people, that I welcome yon to-day.
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STATE EOBTIOULTUBAL BOOIBTY.
BB8F0NSE BY YICB-PBGSIDBNT N. F. MURBAT, ELM GBOYE. Ladies and Gtnilemen;
On behalf of the State HortlouJturtl eocictr and our honored President, [ take pleasure In thanking you for IhU heart; and enthunlaBtlc welcome to your neat and thrifty little city, couched among the plctuteBque and fruitful hills of Southeast Missouri, aud appropriately named Poplar Bluff.
Ab a State society we accepted your cordial iDTttatlon to hold this meeting here. Dot so much for the warm welcome which we felt sure we won)d receive (for we meet no other kind In Missouri), but we desire and aim to bold our meetings where we can accomplish the moat for the cause of horticulture. And while our State la all good for the production of frolt, your section seems to be a highly favored one, where all kinds of fruit cau be grown In great profusion and perfection.
Last winter a gentleman from Howell county made the best show of apples at our State meeting I ever saw, and carried off nearly all the premtuma. Butler county was not represented. If It had been, I have no doubt you would hare woo yourshareof the laurels. What you need aa fruit-growers Is organization and de- velopment, and we have come to help you, and I am happy to say to you good people of Poplar Sluff to-night, that we have with us on this occasion not only onr soleo- tlflo membera of whom we are all proud, but a goodly number of our wide-awake, hard-worklDg practical horticulturists, representing the dISerent sections of tlia State, who 1 trust will be able to Interest and Instruct you.
Some years ago we adopted the plan of changing from place to piece In holding onr meetings, lo the hope that tt wonld be the means of awakening a more general interest in the punuit of horticulture, and f am happy to say that the result ao far bas been very gratifying. Wherever we bave gone we liave'had good meetings, new recruits have been added to our little army, and we have been encouraged to extend onr field of labor ; and so to-night we And ourselves gathered from distant parts of the State before this intelligent aadlence, for an exchange of Ideas and facts, gathered from practical experience lo our catting. Rere we meet many of our old friends and co-workers, and form Ihe acquaintance of new ones, and the whole ten- dency of these meetings Is to elevate, refine and strengthen the social ties that will ever bind each trusting heart to heart in friendship and love.
The success of our State society and the work we have undertaken Is fraught with much good to the people of Missouri. It means more and better fruit, more abundant crops by holding our Insect enemies in check, more and better homes, more sociability, better health, greater happiness, a healthy flow of desirable Immi- grants to occupy our wild lands, the ornamentation of our public school grounds, cemeteries and parks.a stirring up of the people to a proper realization of the great, rich and munificent blessings that nature and nature's God has In atore for all those who win embrace and improve their opportunities, a general movement all alcmg the line, the beginning of one grand triumphal march to subdue the wilds of natnre, and cause our land to give up her rich and long-hidden treasures to subserve the highest good of our race. Ladles and gentlemen, are nottheseobjects worthy of your high- est consideration ? and may we not ask and expect your hearty co-operation In this great and good work ?
Notwithstanding tbe many advantages this great State offera to the fruit- grower, to those of limited capital and the emigrant seeking a home, with her vast rolling prairies, the beantlful and wondeifullj productive biufi ranges along her rivers, and her broad, fertile bottom landa, the magntfloent and healthy plateau of the Ozarks, located In the geographical center of the Union, her large cities making
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SCMHBB MEETING AT POPLAB BLUPF. 11
t good borne market for her frntta, an<l bonnded od tbe norlhweit bf Stat«B and tkbC Territories, rich and iDexbauetlble in itrazing aud mineral wesltb, now being rtipidl7 developed and deBtlned In tbe future to furnlBb employment for mllltous of people, that will keep up a conatant and growing demand for all her fruit ; with a iDRgtiillceDt public Bcbool system, the perpetuation of which la amplyprovldedfor; wltba variety of Inexhauitible mineral wealth unexcelled In the world, and with a variety of soil and climate within her borders suited to all tastes and occupations, which If rightly appreciated and properly developed, won Id make her the wealthiest tod most independent spot oo tbe globe ; yet In the face of all these fuels we have within our borders tens of thousands who barely exist and. who know nothing what- ever of the beauties and luxuries of life, and for a quarter of a century the great tidal waveoflmmlgratioD, made ap by Industrious Europeans and a thrKty class ftom oor Eastern i^tates, have passed through and around this great ^tate and spresd out be- yond tbe Missouri to make and build their homes as best they could on the parched and blizzard-stricken plains of tbe Great American desert.
8ha11 we longer neglect our duty and allow this state of things to ooDtinne P permit emigration to pass by without an effort to secure or retain It ? permit our golden treasures to remain hidden in tbe bosom of Mother Earth and suffer tbe mil- lions to struggle on, half fed and half clothed, and die in poverty, without & Enow- ledge of tbe many great and good opport unities we can offer tbem ? I trust not.
W« hope In tbe near nitnre to have at least one good society In every county in ear State, so that we may be folly prepared to make sneb a display of Missouri fTnits at the World's Fsir in "ninety-two" that will attract the attention and win the admiration of all who see it, and give our State tbe widest and best adver- tisement she has ever had.
But with tbe great push and energy now displayed by borticaltnrlsts. will we Dot soon have an over-production of fruit? This Is a natural and proper but to me a very old qnejtlon, aud one to which I In my younger days answered very timidly, no, I tbink not, for a few years ; but as 1 grew older and saw tbe supply of fruit inereate many fold, and sell at double the price it did In former yaara, my fatth be- WMe itrancw, and I anew«nd, do, not for a generatton ; and now, after a oarefu) review of this whole subject, I am fully prepared to answer this old question to- night with an emphatic no, never!
In a careful retrospective view of onr country's history, we find many things that become potent arguments to sustain this answer.
In tbe early years of onr repuUte, we were strictly a nation of agriculturists. Only three per cent of our population lived in cities, manufacturing wasBtruggllng fOT a foothold, railroads were unknown, we bad no vast army of consumers, and the masses were content with tbe most common and ordinary articles of food.
Bnt look and behold tbe change. Only one-half of our population belongs to tbeagricultnral class, one-fourth of our people live in cities, our manufactories are athingof nationalprlde, andfnrniBliemployment to hundreds of thousands. Our railroads. If spun out Into one continuous line, would encircle the globe five times - They penetrate every center of population and connect us with the markets cf the world. They employ a million of men, many of tbem with families, who go to swell onr great army of consumers to tbirty-tive millions, and make for us the best home market for fruit in the world. We have a number of cKles that will each consume a train load of fruit daily, and tbe Inventive skill and industry of Ameri- can gentns has given ns the Improved methods of canning, evsporatlng and pack- ing our SDrplns fruita that formerly went to waste, so they can now be shipped at pleasure to the moat distant markets.
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12 STATE HOBTIOULTDBAL 80CIBTT.
The Honorable Parker Earl, preildent of tbe Amerlo&n Horticultural Society, hae well and truly Bald, "we are not producing too much, but marketlog too poorly." And so it )e we often And a surplus of fruit lo one locality and a metignr Hud IniufBcIent supply In another. A fair and equal distribution of our frnlt pro- duct amonK the masaes by quicker and cheaper transpoitntloQ is in the line of our work, and we call upon all lovers of tbe beautiful and good and all friends of pro- grese to lend a helping hand to promote the cause of horticulture. And last bat not leaat, we wish to recognize that mighty engine of power that has ever been enoh a potent factor In the world's clTlllzatton, tbe printing press, and thank Its repreaen tat ires for the great and timely succor they have so willingly and earnestly glvea to our cause.
And now, good people of Poplar Bluff and of Butler county, permit me In con- clnaiOD to invite and urge you one and all to Join In with ui and help make this meeting one long to be remembered. Let ua unite our forces and prepare for the work before us, and with new courage and greater zeal, let our march he onward and upward, our step Arm and elastic, till we have reached tbe zenith of our nse- fnlnees for the world's greatest good.
"JOHNHT APPLESEED."
Afr. Praidtni and Members of the Mitaouri State HoriieuHural Soeieiti .-
While Johnny Appleseed is the acknowledged pioneer of horticulture in the West, yet some of our pomological authors we fear were not acquainted with the true character of the man, as we find the following In one of our standard works of to-day :
' 'On the borders of civilization we eometlmea meet with a singular being, more savage than polished, and yet useful Id his way. Such waa dohnny Apple- seed, a simple-hearted being, who loved to roam through the forests in advance of bla fellows, consorting now with tbe red man, now with tbe white, a sort of con- necting link; by his white brethren he was no doubt considered rather a vaga- bond."
In tbe month of June. 1816, my father eettled in Richland county, Ohio. After having lived there some time a stranger came Into the neighborhood and com- nienced teaching a very strange religious doctrine for that time, and tbe people became very much excited. Some thought be was crazy, others that he was pos- sessed of a devil, and some of them would not allow the stranger to enter their houses. Uy father at that time was a memtie'' of tbe Baptist church, had taught school considerable and was considered the best read man In the new settlement, and waa liberal In his religious views, and always ready to listen to and Investigate anything new or strange. So on his first opportunity he Invited tbe stranger to his home, when he found to bis great delight that he was entertaining one of the best posted and most brilliant minded persons that he bad ever had the pleasure of meeting; and after tbis meeting "Johnny Appleseed" always found a welcome stopping place, and would often stay three or four days at a time In his meander- ing Journeys through the wilderness; and from what we could gather from father's interviews wltb bim, hla religious views must have been radical and far in advance of that time, and fully abreast wltb our most progressive religious teacherH of to- day ; but when we consider and look back to that time when children were taught by parents, teachers and ministers (with a very few exceptions) that the world waa full of witches and evil beings with cloven feet and ponderous horns, roam- ing through earth and air, seeking whom they might deceive and drag down to perdition ; and fnrtber, that where superstition and ignorance prevail, and that
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cIbss are tn the supremacy, tt Is mneraltf a dangeroas place to advanoe or propiigat« new doctrines, and tboee wbo do so mast expect to receive the disap- proval of those Id autborlty; hence It is easy to Bee ft'om whence the author of "AmerloaD Pomology" drew hU Inspiration when he wrote the ahove quotation. Vet no on« that ever enjoyed the acquaintance ol the late Doctor Warder would roramoment believe that he would knowingly misrepresent any fellow-creature, miioh less a oo-worlier In hiE chosen profession and the admitted pioneer of hortl- cnlture In the great West.
But such Is the fate of all aselul reformers. Prejudice, the bane of all progress and reform, Is ever on the alert, and can easily maunfacture deml-gods and devils Ineamate out of the same material, as the past history of the world abundantly proves; and whilst we And before as the biBtory of such men as Plzsaro, Cortez, DeSoto aad kindred spirits, whose Inroads amongst an Innocent and harmless peo- ple were marked by blood and desolation, whose sole object was conquest and booty fur self-aggrandizement, it Is truly gratifying to us to have the privilege of writing the history, so far as we can, of one whose life was spent in doing good, gathering precious seeds wherever they could be found, and distributing them amongst the new settlers of the far west free of charge, and planting them himself far In advance of the settlements wherever a congenial spot could be found, for the benefit of those that might follow after — a true pbllantliroplst and benefactor Id every sense of the word. Wc have no recollection of ever seeing the man, but have eaten many an apple that grew on trees of bis planting. We have olten heard bthcr and mother tell what bis proper name was and his nationality, but they have passed from our mind, and we have written to the older members of our family and many other places, hoping to And some one who could give us his right name, place of burial and other things connected with his history ; but all of no avail so tM, and probably will always remain a sealed mystery to the world. And la con- nection wltb the foregoing we conld call to mind a grand array of noble men and women who have glveo the beet of their lives to the promotion of horticulture In the great West, many of whom have passed to their rewards on the other shoro of time, whose names WH win not call, lest we may lesve out some equally deserv- ing; but conld we command the time and means, we would gather from earth's bouDteouB treasures some fitting emblem to raise a monument In honor of our departed fellow- laborers, whose illustrious names we would inscribe upon Its walls, and could we find worthy material to raise the column as tall as the cedars of Lebanon, and Its walls be all aglow with sparkling gems of merited worth, yet we would say, let the crowning glory of that grand structure ever be the name of "Johnny Apploseed."
JOHNNY APPLESBBD.
T/te Piotutr Pomoltyiii of tAe West.
FlnmTTSDMctli)!!* of Ind. Ilnn. Socletr-]
To-day, as your sppolnted Ecrvant, 1 would speak of the pioneer of pomology In the west; a man of positive Individuality, an eccentric genius, a character — Jonathan Chapman, otherwise known as Anpleseed Johnny, which finally grew Into the familiar name of Johnny Appleaeed.
Wbo was Johnny Appleseed?
The Ohio Horticultural society recently ofi'ered a premium for the best essay giving the history of this man ; so that. If anyone thinks my subject to-day an in-
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14 STATE HOBTIOULTTJBAL 800IBTY.
significant on«. [ console myself with the thonght that It Is a subject of great sigDlficnnce to many.
Who was Johtrny Appleseed? A groap of children asked that question one day, and were told that he was a qaeer old man, who went about with seedling appio trees, and wore a mnah-pot for a bat.
llie oblldren had beard their father tath so much about ''grafted ftult," and * 'seedllogi" bad been so much discarded, that they concluded that the queer old man In qoestlou mast hare had poor taste, as well as a queer name and still queerer hat, and their mirth only Increased. In fact, the children had been playing on th« porch and were notey ; they were "cutting up." as they would say ; the father, who was reading in the house, laid down his book and rushed to the door to improvise a riot act, bat when he came In foil view of the scene, he "ahemed" three times, and smiled, looking at the girl who sat In mock solemnity with a sauce -pan upon her head for a bat. "Sfoulook like Johnny Appleseed must have looked," be eald, and answered the volley of questions that was shot at htm as he retreated to his easy chair.
Somo years ago. I read aoioewbere, but cannot remember where, of a discus- sion among horticuUnrists on the native fruits of Indiana, and perhaps Ohio, In which one party contended that apples, other than the crab-apple, were indigenous to the soil of Indiana, and as a proof of this strange assertion, told of localities where apple trees that bore good apples had been found growing when certain per- sons bad first come to the country, and before an orchard had been planted. The discussion was ended by some one explaining that there bad been a pioneer of apple trees In those places before the settlers had planted orchards. The eccentric Johnny Appleseed had been there, fulfilling his mleslon. This knowledge of him settled an otherwise nnexplatnable ^ct. ^tlll 1 asked myself, who was Johnny Appleseed, the queer man, who wore a mush-pot for a bat, and believed In seedling apple trees and orchards for the pioneers?
At the meeting of the American Pomologlcal society at Chicago in 1870, at the banquet table, when President Wilder proposed the toast for the Ohio Horticul- tural society. Dr. John A. Warder responded, saying that he claimed ahtlqulty for the Horticultural society of his State on account of the part that the eccentric Johnny Appleseed nad played as a pioneer pomologlat, and that due credit should beglreobim.
Said my companion at the table : Who was Johnny Appleseed?
So I made baste to Improve the first opportunity to ask Dr. Warder where 1 could find anything written about Johnny Appleseed (for in vain bad I searched the leaves of the Western Annals). Dr. Warder named Howe's History of Ohio as the volume' that would impart the knowledge I sought, adding, "you will find that book In any circulating Library." But the Morrison tlhrary, of Richmond, does not, or did not, contain the volume In question, as it most certainly should, for tt Is a book which has a fuod of Information, Invaluable almost. But once, In a library of old and excellent books of a Mend I found this History of Ohio, or "Historical ColleottonsofOhio," by Henry Howe, published In Cincinnati in 184S. On page 431, In the history of Klchlaad county, there Is a fragment of a sketch of the life of this itinerant:
At an early day there was a very eccentric character who frequently was in this region, well remembered by the early settlers. His name was Jonathan Chap- man, but he was usually known as Johnny Appleseed. He was originally from New England.
Be had Imbibed a remarkable passion for rearing and cultivation of apple trees from the seed. He first made his appearance In western Pennsylvania, and from
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tben made bla waj Into Ohio, keeping on the outsktrta of tbe BettlemenU and fol- lowing hU favorite parautte. He wai accustomed to dear spots on the loamy lands, plant UU seeds, enclose the ground, and then leave the place until the trees bad In a measare grown. When the settlers began to flock In and open th«lr "clearings," Johnny was ready for them with his young trees, which be either gftve away or sold for some trifle, as >n old coat, or soy article of which he could make use. Thus he proceeded for many years, until the whole country was in a measure settled and supplied with apple trees, deriving self-satlsfaotlon amount- ing to delight in the Indulgence of bis engrossing passion. About twenty years since he removed to the far west, there to enact over again the same career of h amble usefulness.
nis personal appearance was as singular as bis character. He was a small man, quick and restless in his motions and conversation. His beard and hair were long and dark, and bU eyes black and sparkling. He lived the roughest life, and often slept in tbe woods. His clothing was mostly old, being given to him In ex- ebanga for apple trees. He went barefooted, and often traveled miles through the snow In that way. In doctrine he was a follower of Swedenburg, leading a moral, blameless life, Ilkenlog himself to tbe primitive Christian, literally tsklni; no thought of the morrow. Wherever he went he circulated Swedenhorglao works, and If short of them would tear s book In two and give each part to different per- sons. He was careful not to Injure any animal, and thought hunting morally wrong. He was welcome everywhere among the settlers, and treated with great kindness even by the Indians. We give a few anecdotes in Illustration of his char- acter and eccentricities :
Un one cool Autumn night, while lylngbyhis camp Are Id the woods, the mosquitoes flew in the bUze and were bnint. Johnny, who wore on bis bead a tin utensil, which answered both ss a cap and a mush-pot, filled it with water and quenched tbe fire, and afterward remarked, ■' God forbid that I should build a fire fbr my comfort that should be the means of destroying any of bis creatures." An- other time he made a camp Are at the end of a hollow log In which he Intended to pass tbe night, bat fludlne tt oconpled by a bear and her enbs, he removed the fire to tbe other end and slept on tbe snow In tbe open air rather than disturb the t>car.
An Itinerant preacher was once holding forth on tbe public square In Mansfield, and exclaimed: "Where Is the barefooted Christian traveling to heaven f " Johnny, who was lying on bis back on some timber, taking the question In its lit- eral sense, raised his bare foot In tbe air and vociferated, >' Here he is t " (Howe's History of Ohio.}
Some years ago there was an lUustnted anlole published in " Harper's Monthly Magazine " oonoerolng blm, which many of you recollect. One of the Illustrations wae the si-ene in Mansfield Just related.
More reeently an article appnared In the "Cincinnati Enquirer" purporting to be original, but was simply a reproduction of the article in " Harper's Maga- zine." And later still, I saw published In a Cincinnati dally a paper on this subject which had been read at the Woodward High school, by Teresa Otten, on Pioneer day.
It Ib stated in these articles, that it is a pretty well established fact that Jona- than Chapman was bom In Boston, Mass., about the year 17T5. The first reliable trace of our hero flnds blm in the Territory of Ohio, in 1801, with a load of apple seeds, which be planted in various places on and about the borders of Licking creek, the first orchard thus originated by him being on tbe farm of l8»ao Stadden, In wbat laDowLlckingcounty,ln theStateof Ohio. He Is lostslghtof in that region,
16 BTATB HOHTICULTUBAL 800IBTT.
bnt in 1806 a pioneer settler in Jeffenoa county, Ohio, od a bright eprlog daj sotleed a peculiar craft elowlf dilfting oa the tide down the Ohio iWer. It was "Appleseed JohnD7," with two canoes tied together laden with apple seeds. He procared the seeds at the elder presses of westero b'eiiQs;lvania, aod traveled with them on the Ohio rlrer and its northern tribataries, nntll he came to suitable apots fi>r his Quieerles, carrying the seeds on his back in bkcIcb from bis landings to tha ■pots he chose to cultivate.
One of his oharacterlstles was bis extreme fondness for oblldren. He was always carrying about little gifts togWe tohlsllttlefrlends; trifling in themselves, but remembrances of his love for the recipients, and It Is said that many a grand- mother carefully cherished scraps of bright colored calico or biteof ribbon that had been a present to her when a little girl from poor old homeless Johnny Appleseed, when he had been a guest at their fireside, and In the old log cabin.
However hungry he might be, he would never partake of food until he was assured that there was enough for every child of the family and until they were served.
He was an evangelist for bis faith, and disseminated tlie doctrines he believed and considered the trae explanation of the Holy Scriptures— an evangelist who labored not for this world's riches, but for oonselence sake.
It Is said that he died In Allen county, Indiana, near Fort Wayne, and that bis death was a trlnmpbant passing into glory. He lay gazing at the setting sun, his face radiant with happiness, and gently breathed his last as the sun sank below the horizon.
I have a letter trom Dr. Ayres, of Upper Sandusky, Ohio, written In reply to inquiries I made of him on teaming from my sister that he had personally known JoLnny Appleseed. The tetter Is hrom an old Infirm gentleman, and highly valned by me, and I am glad to have It to give to yon on this oocaslon :
" Upper Sinddskv, Oblo, April 32, ISSl.
"Dbak lliDiu — I was acquainted with Jonathan Chapman, alias 'Johnny Appleseed,' In Blehland coanty, Ohio, In 1823, when I was yet in my teens. 1 lost tnck or him In 1837 or 1838.
" He was a spare,. light man of medium height, and would weigh about one hundred and twenty-ftve pounds. He had fine, dark hair, which he allowed to grow down to his shoulders, and brushed back of his ears. Hie face was long and slim. His beard was greyish, and clipped with shears— never close. He was always clad very poorly, old slipshod shoes without stockings, the cast-off clothes of some char- itable miser. He would not ask for any, and I suppose he never purchased any. He would est at the table with the family and liked good victuals, hut he would also eat scraps which were designed for the slop barrel.
" He slept on the floor on an old blanket. His old slip shoes were untidy look- ing and he seemed to care very little about his person. I never heard of his being sick.
" He would sit and hold my sister, who was then six or eight years old, as long as he could entertain her. He would embrace her, and seemed happy with chil- dren and gave the children many presents. I asked him why he had no wife ; he said he would not marry In this world but would have a pure wife In heaven.
" He never had any money that I knew of or ever heard of. He bad been hun- dreds of miles In the wlldeniees and In the settled country in the West with his trees, but be left It to the people who took his trees to pay for them or not. He said they knew they owed him, and he would not aikthem. Bis sister, Mrs.
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BnHHBB HBETIira AT POPLAB BLUFF. 17
Brown, llTfld De» ua »t PerryBvIUe, Otilo. ?he wu poor In ttata world's gooda, «nd If be taul anything he g&ve It to her and ^er tuallj. Hra. Brown wu a amall woman, and very smart and bright.
" Jobnny travded with his apple Beeda tn oaaoes on the risers, and then from the Btreaiui he paebed them on hlB bank Into the wilderneBs, where be wonid clear hlB gTonnd and plant the BeedB.
" Onoe, whIlBt at hla brother-ia-law's, and wai In a amall prairie onttlng graaa with a Boythe. he waa bitten, by a Bnaka. He threw the scythe away and made for the hoDse. Hy hther was called on to see him. Be woald not be contented nntU they went to see If, ac<ddeQtBUy, he might with the aoythe bare woaoded the poor anake. He aappoaed If he had not tramped OD it. It would not have bitten him.
'■He told methat whilst he waa lost In the wllderneBB abear advaDoed toward him and raised on his hind feet ; the emergency was fearful ; he picked up a long dry pole that happened In his reach and commenced the fight, the pole breaking at -every stroke ontil about three or four feet long. By the help of the Lord he slew the bear, had a good Bnpper and carried one quarter and the hide Into the eettle- ment.
" He a] way* carried sheets of the New Church writings to leare with the peo- ple, and on hie return exchanged those he had left for others. The people, as at this day, paid bnt little attention to the New Church (or Swedenborglan) doctrines ; It was not orthodox, neither popnlar, and old Jtdmny was ngged,
"I neverheard htm exclaim against any people bnt (he landlords; he said they extort to charge 13^ cents for a meal of riotaals. In those days supper and lodging could be had for 16} cents.
■'Ihareonly been able to aketoh ont the above few items (I haTebeen 111); but at any time I will be glad to answer any InqnlrleB you may be pleased to make. What little I have given yon has the merit of being only true.
' ' Yours truly,
"David Atbss."
And tbuB we gather here and there some pasaages in the life of a benefactor of mankind. Like the old-fashioned itinerant Methodist preacher, he coold say:
Yetthe wholeboondleaacontlaent waBhla as Air as be chose to venture. He planted, not for himself, but for uthera. He was the "John in the Wllderaeas," preparing the way for the future pomology ofthe West. He planted that the children might :gather. Some such thoughts as these moat have been ainglng through bis soul as Ae engaged in his favorite avocation :
"WhMplantwelD tbe apple tree t Fralt, that Bbill >w»ll In aanny Jane And redden In the Augmt noon, And (Slop, u gentle Bin go by Thit (kn tbe blnR September aky g
And ohlldren, wild with noUy fflea, Sbkll Boent tbelr fragrance as tber puft. And Hareb for Ihem tbe Inftsd grus Intbe shade or the apple tree." Althongh homeless, he waa welcome every where. In the log cabins of the white -settlers and In tbe wigwam of the [ndiaa,and accepted gratefully, aa a brother man, that hospitality for which the North American Indian ts so Justly proverbial. The H B— 2
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18 STATU HOBTIOTJLTTJBAI. SOOI8TT.
little ohtldren loTed him and the raderboye never Jeered him. Howfdllof lorend bow peacefnl muat have been hit lite— hia Botive, Belf-denylDglirei Hts whole belng- ■eenied IntenBlfled with one great mlsBlon; for It he endured perils In the wllder- neu, hungerlngs and cold. He mnet have poeBeaaed Id a high degree that fire or the BonL that lonate prompting to obey an Impulse wbloh conecleace approves, which we term eothnslasm ; that thing which Inspirod the song of Miriam when the Bed sea was passed ; that goaded the Knights of the Holy Croai to possess the Holy I,and ; that made Colambas snooesefnl at last at the court of Spain, and snpported his soul during a voyage which without It would have been made In utter despair. It was that which Inspired Daniel Boone, and Andabon,&nd Horse, and Cyrus Field, and lends to thonsanda of humble lives the strength to do whatsoever the hands find to do with might, and gives some degree of self-approval.
There must have been a purity of soul, a rellnement of character, a gentleness of heart, to have made this man of uncouth appearance so welcome among the peo- ple and so maoh beloved by the children ; tor ohlldren Intnitlvely perceive the roat ohaiacter.
I have often thought what grand times he must have had on the streams and In the primeval forest with the grandeur of solitude aronnd him. To be good com- pany to one's self is a great thing. How near he must have lived to the heart of nature and found companionship with the oreatarea of the wild wood, the most Inslgnlflcant of which he would not harm.
It is said tbat his burial was sn obscure that now no man knoweth his sepuloher . What matters it, If cme has died in alght of heaven, and heard the song of angels la passing. If the sepulcher Is unmarked?
"Afterall,ltlsthe little things In life that are the Barest possession. The only- deeds worth Inscribing on any one's monument are those tbat would seem too trivial to pl&oe there. The work that Is unaeen, the anonymous inftaenoe, the Dnoonciona argument lent by one's life to another's creed, this best stands the test. Here la the crowning satisfaction of the reformer's work, and that which makes even of lt» little memories an exceeding great reward." Blessed are the "HaDdiChst pay thetiwaT
Id coins tliBt time can aeTermst, FootBtepi Ibat aoaad another ilay, Tbangli reel bave tnraecl to dm(.
"JOHNNY APPLESEED." (DedlDated totbeAmerlean HoTtlealtnraiaoolety )
There's a hero worth the singing that no poet's lips have sung,
A prophet of the wilderness whose deeds have found no tongue —
A homely, bumble-hearted man— a gentle spirit sent
To cheer the world and plant the newer gospel, aa he went —
A specter of the solltades, whoae bare feet, where they pressed,
Prankt with never-dying beauty the dark borders of the West—
A Drald of the Valley, bnt as wordless as the wave.
Scorning comf6rt— seeking nothing for the good things that he gave —
A poor old plodding pilgrim of a brave, unselflsh breed,
Ood showed the way, and shod the feet of Johnny Appleseed.
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SDHHEB MBETIKG AT POPLAR BLUFF.
II. I touch his atainleBS record with s doUcucy dae To the reverence that bows ub, when & ftreat eoqI comes to view : How pile onr petty p&aslona and ambitlona, when we bcad The garnered love that gllttere froin oat guileless hearted mtiD ; And such was be to whom we paj the tribate of a tear, The oTohard- planter of the West — our oldest pioneer, Whoee only weapon of defense against a warlike race Waa the glow of ehlldisb innocence that gladdened In bli ftice ; And BO no kalgbt of any age tbat ever mounted steed, Went forth to battle better armed than Johnny Appleseed.
lU. We frame him In oar fane; like a figure In a dream. A specter on a pbantom-boat, a-floatlng down a stream— A little fat-faced fellow, wltb a ruddy cheek and obtn. And ■ (tanny little '* mush-pot" tbat be poked bis round head In — Wltb hair aa black and frowsy as a bat's wing dipped In tar. And erea as abarp and sparkling as the twinkling of a star— With a body plnmp and pudgy as the picture of a Turk, And a sprightly Pnck-ltke raotion, punctuated wltb ajerk : Such seema the meagre outline of the man of wbom we read In tbe legends banded down to ue of Jnbnny Appleaeed .
IV. So tender was tbe heart of him, ao gentle, and sojuet, He would not barm tbe vilest thing that wriggled In tbe dust ; He quenched his camp-ftre on tbe hlLla, for fear the beetlea might Get scorched agalnat the flames of It In their uncertain flight ; Tls laid he even spared tbe snake whose venomed fangs he felt, And all the air was soft wltb love and pity where he dwelt ; The pappooae prattled on his knee — the panther on tbe limb Seemed conaolnua ct his barmlesanese, and only glared at him ; And thus along the world he went, as destiny decreed, And happy la the life he led, this Johnny Appleaeed.
Thro' every forest where be pasaed, he acattered germa that grew
To bloomy benedictions, as be drifted on Into
Tbe gloomy regions farther west, that swallowed him from sight.
As a cloud absorbs a star-t>eam, in the alienee of tbe night;
He sank Into the solitudes, like some remembered strain
Tbat warmed the heart an Instant, and was never heard agaiu ;
But when the pippins glimmer in tbe brown October daya,
Ohio's bllta and valleys pulae the old apostte'a praise.
And tbe people pushing after him, with lifted voices plead
For purposes as pure as tboae of Johnny Appleaeed.
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STATE HOETICULTDBAL SOCIBTY.
VI. A song for Jobnny Appleseed ! wlio left a llvlDg trail or beantjr everywhere he went, In inonntaln and In vale ; Thro* iDkny a^TSDlehed Bummer rang the blide and hammed the bees Amid the bending bloRsomB of hlg broad old apple-trees, Befbre the tardj vangaard of the foremost plooeere. Came to plaek the welcome frnltage in that wllderneas of tbelrB ; A health to Johnny Appleteed! and majr hie glory be Regrafted In the years to come, on Life's eternal tree. And as long as poor humanity staii'lB naked in its need, Ood send aa souls as white as that of Johnny Appleseed.
Jama Xetaton MoMltf\ei . Hason, III., Jan. 30, 1890.
FLOBICULTUBH.
HRS. H. C JOBNBOK, POPLIB BLUFP.
Floriculture la a subject I have always been very much interested to. When a child I always had a small comer In mother's garden where I gjew what sbe called " weeda," but to me they were flowers. After t becaoie a scboo! girl my favorite study was botany, and at that time I could have written a far better essay on that subject than tt will be possible to for me to do now ; fbr my other duties In life have, to a great extei't, crowded out my flowers, bat I think there has never been a time in my life when I did not possess and cultivate a few plants.
I believe the object of this convention Is to give and to get what Information we can upon all subjects pertaining to agriculture, honioultore and floric;:lture. I irlll now try to aonflne myself more closely to my subject : Floriculture is a sub- ject which should interest every one, and more especially the ladles of our land. £ do not think there is any one thing that does more tobeantl^ our homes than flow- ers, and the cultivation of them gives us both health and pleasure. If you want to make a flower garden, the two things Hrst to be considered are time and expense. First say to yourself, how much time have I to spare for this purpose? and second, how much money can I spend? Vout answers will depend largely upon your deci- sion on these two points. The majority of people bay more plants than they can spare time to cultivate properly, and when they make a failure they say : "Oh, I love flowers, but I can't have any luck with them; tbey won't grow for me."
Uy own experience Is that it Is best to choose perennials because after they ara once well established, yoa will aways have some kind of flowers; if they are poorly cultivated, of coarse yon will have poor dowers, bat they will bear a great deal of neglect and will bloom. There are so many beautiful perennials now that flowera can be bad from them the whole season, beginning with the Snowdrop and Hya- cinth in the early spring, and ending with the Chrysanthemum or beantilUl Christ- mas Boses. as they are sometimes called. In December. People wbo live In crowded cities cannot have these plants, but for them there are a great many flowers that grow in the shade. Fuohsits, Pansles, Forget- me-note, V^lolets. Lobelias, Lilly of the Talley, Hollyhocks, E^loxes, and other herbaceous plants, whose native habitation Is tho shady woods, will do best, but even these languish If denied all direct rays Of the sunlight. In situations where there can he no sunlight, the best effect Ib produced by ornamental leaved plants, whose beauty depends upon their foliage, and not upon their blossoms; among these are the Gold and Silver (variegated-
BDUUEB STEETING AT POPLAR BLUFF. 21
leaTed] Qeraniams, AcbjraotliiH, Altera ad theru, BegoDlae, C&liadlaint, Centau- reaB, ColeneeB, etc., which, If planted so u to brlDg: the various shades In contrsit, pTodaoe a pleasing effect, which will continue the whole summer If tfaey are given ODly a little oare and a plentiful supplf of water.
The cultivator of flowers In rooms should understand the necesstt; of sunlight to plants that ore to flower, and endeavor to get these as close as possible to a win- dow having an eastern oi soatbern aspect. The higher the temperature, the more the plant suffers from want of light. Many plants might remain semi-dormant In a temperatnre of fortf degrees — in a cellar for example — away Iiom direct light for months without material Injury ; while, if the cellar contained a furnace, keeping a temperature of seventf degrees, they would all die. Sach would partlcnlarly be the case with plants of a half-hardy nature, sooh as monthly Boses, Carnations, Fnohslas, Geraniums, etc.
The debilitating effect of want of direct light on plants Is well llluetrated b7 taking a healthy, vigorous plant In full foliage and bloom, that has been growing in the direct light ol our green-house benches, and placing It under the bencli. If the temperature is high, say eighty degrees, In forty-eight hours the sicldy sign showing want of light will be apparent to the experienced eye, and In a week its sickly condition will be plain to the most common observer. This goes to prove that unless you have an eastern or southern window, you cannot grow flowers snc- cassfully Id the house.
When choice can be bad the flower-garden should slope toward the south or southeast, and if the garden is sheltered by hills or timber ftom tbe north ornorth- west, many plants and trees can be growa that oonld not otherwise succeed with- out tliat shelter. Such a situation also permits work to be iMgnn earlier In the spring and continaed later In the fall, making the season trota two to three weeks longer than If the garden faced the north or northwest. The soil In flower-garden- ing, as In all horticultural operations, is the basis of eoccees, and is even of more importance than aspect or location, and whether It is the man of wealth looking for a site opon which to build and surround his home with a flowery landscape, or the workln)! gardener about to become a florist and venturing his hard earnings In a flrst essay In business, let him flrst be certain that " old Mother Sarth," In the spot about to be chosen, is in sach condition as will reward bis labors with success. Soils are so varied that it will be dlfllcult to describe to the inexperteneed what the proper character shonld be. Sandy loam, attont ten or twelve laches deep, Is best, and If you have such a soil yon are pretty certain of success, but If you have a clayey loam yun will have to drain it well or failure is almost certain. The soil most to be avoided Is the one known as " thin soil." 'I?hls may be either of sand, gravel or clay, being in many oases little more tbau sutnoll. No process of fertilizing or cultivation can bring such a solt into condition to compete sucoessfuUy with soil that Is naturally good, but if you have a poor sell It must be constantly built up and enriched every season.
After one has the proper soil, the next thing to be thought of la good seed or good plants, whichever the case may be. Always Cry to have the best ; never buy a plant because It la cheap,' rather do with fewer plants and less seed and have what yon do have of the very best quality. After you once obtain a few good plants, It is tat easy matter to Increase your stock by propagation, and tn .« short time have a boaotllal supply.
There are a great many things to be learned about the propagation of plants, wblcb Is very Interesting to anyone partlcnlarly Interested in floriculture, but to moat of my bearers would be very dry and uninteresting; therefore I shall say
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22 STATE HORTICDLTOEAL BOCIETT.
notliiDg about It, but I would like to call four attoation particnlarly to the Impor- tance of properly preparing Beed-beds. When you uodertake to grow plants tram ■eed, in the first place the Boll should not be too rich but Juat good soil, and then It Bhonld be taoronghlf pnlTerlzed ; and if the seeds you want to plant are very small It Is beet to sift the soil before planting your seeds. I fonnd by experience that In planting pansy seeds, and everyone knows the size of these thst Is at all acquainted with seeds, that I got doable the amount of plants ftom a bed where I sifted the •oil and one where I did not, and with smaller seeds the gain In plants was even greater.
I have now perhaps written enongh, and In oonclusloa will say to all members of this convention, I live In the north end of this little ctty, wbere I have a small green-faooae and a few plants. lam only an amateur florist. Ihave only been mak- ing a specialty of floriculture for about six months. I claim to know hut little, but If there la anyone here etpeolally Interested In the cultnre of flowers, and they will call upon me at my houee, I will gladly give them any Information I can npon this subject, and to those who are rot particularly Interested In their cultivation I ex- tend a cordial Invitation to come and see my flowers. It may help yon to spend a few pleasant minutes In our town.
ODB BEST BBDDIKQ PLANTS.
J. SUtCHQRABBB, SPSINaFIBLII, HO.
At every returning spring or planting season the question Is a<ked many times : ' ^ What are oor beet bedding plants V As now there are an endless number of kinds, and the planter can hardly fall in making a good selection, It Is rather difficult to say what Is the best. In my boyhood days It certainly was more dlflScult to select bedding plants, as the number was very limited, hnt now In these days of progreaa, floriculture has made such rapid strides and Improvementa that every taste and whim of the planter can have his or her fancy in the arrangement and harmonloQS blending of shapes and colors.
Of late years the taste and love fbr bedding plants has kept up with the sup- ply, and every season the wtde-awske florist brirgs oat some new or old candidate for bedding puriMMes. To give a list of what Is best would be quite an undertak- ing, for the multitude of flcviats' catalogues sent broadcast over our land every spring tell of all sorts of wonderful, rare and beautiful plants adapted to bedding out, but Bometimes the novice gets misled by the gorgeous coloring and descrip- tions of the new and rare things, while sometlmeB one finds disappointments In the purohase of new and rare plants.
Now 1 will try and enumerate a few of such plants as are among our best hed- dlDg plants.
First aud foremost on the list standB the qneen of all flowers, the Rose. Pew plants if any are more extensively grown than the rose, and when reasonable care Is given by cultivation, the plants respond liberally with an abundance of flowers. The Rose is bo easily grown and so cheaply got that there should he no garden without at least a small collection of hardy perpetuals, or some of the more free flowering Teas, NotseCtes and Bourbons.
Next, the Geranium should be In eveiy flower bed. The varlons kinds are so nnmerouB that everybody can be pleased. I well remember the time when there were only a few kinds, but now their name is legion — every Imsgln able shade of coloring from the purest white to the deepest crimson, single flowering and double flowering. Who would have dreamed of such magnificent kinds as Asa Gray or
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SUMMBB UKSXIHG AT POFLAB BLUFF. 23
of tbe Doable O^aerikl Orant? Truly the ^nlas of Flora baa worked wonderi. What can be more beautlfat thao a. mafls of Q«neral Grant Q«raiilams? In fact the Oeranlum fetands n<-xt to the Rose. It will grow anywhere with the least care, but the better to proportion to the oare bestowed od them
The Verbena as a splendid bedder is not to be overlooked. What a mass of hloom a small bed will pioduoe la wonderful, and the rarlatlona of shadea ar« almost endless. They are very easily ^rown and are very cheap, but beautiful for all that, and they can be planted on beda occupied by bulbs such as Tulips and Hy- acinths.
The Pansy as a bedder fOr rather shady sltaatlons pays for all the trouble and expense. A bed of them will please without fall. The Lantanas of the various kinds wtll well repay.
No flower garden Is complete without the sweeteat of all flowering plaDta, the lorely Heliotrope. By all means, plant afbwplanta. And who can but admire the Salvia, with its brilliant scarlet apikea of flowers borne well above the foliage.
The Phlox Drumondli la another good bedder grown from aeed. The Cuphea or cigar plant Is also admired by many. The Cannas of the various forms are viaiy effecliye ; la some gardens tlieir large and handsome foliage gives the loealltj a eemi-tropicat appearanoe. They flower very freely and are also ohe^.
The Petuniaa, alngle or double, rank as good bedders and ate rtfij efleotlve la masseal; their brilliant flowers of endless shading are certainly and Justly admired. I would also mention the Tube Boae and Qladlolns as good and deserving. The Feverfew, Migaoaette, Sweet Elyslums and the Ageratunu, blue and white. The Double Balsam Is also greatly admired ; especially the White Perfection, although an old and common plant, when well grown, is hardly anrpaaaed by the best of Carua-
One of our most raluable bedding pUnta is the Coleua of the different klnda. There can hardly be anything In the floral kingdom that can outrival their l)eanty. The planta stand the Hunnlest exposures In the garden, are easy grown, and a few should be in every ooUeotlon,
The Alteruantheras of different sorts for bordering flower-beds or massing are par excellence for lettering on the lawn or carpet bedding; they cannot ba surpassed by any other plant in cultivation. A few yeara ago, one of the grandest sights ever belield in that line of gardening was seen at Shaw's botanloa] gardena at it. Louie. One could hardly realize that nature and art were capable of producing auoh wonderful effeota with such a plant aa the AlternanChera. They are almply indis- pensable for that purpoae.
I am afraid this list is growing as long as the florist's catalogue, while a iiDmber of really good things coald I>e mentioned , but the foregoing gives any one agood ooUeotioa. Laat but not leaat of bedders, oomeathe queen of autumn, the lovely and beautiful Chrysanthemum : a goodly number of klnda are indispensable tn a well-regulated flower garden, for they give us such an abuodanoe of Que bloom at a time after Jaok Frost has destroyed nearly all of the beauties of the gardens Chat held away In the warm summer time.
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BTATB HOETlCULTOEAl, SOCIETY.
Wbdkesdat, June 5—9 a. bt.
Society called to order by the President.
Prayer by D. 8. HolniaD.
The following committeea were appointed by the President:
CommiHee on Finance— %. W. Gilbert. J. A. Darkes, N, P. Hurray.
n Fruia—%Aia'\ Miller, W. G. Freemui, C. Barnard. ComTniiiet on Final Raolution»—C. W. Murtfeldt, J. N, Baraett, H. W«ber. OommUteeon Traniportation—Q. A. Bates, N. F. Murray. U. W. Uurtfeldt. OoTmnittu on Obitaary—D. 8. Holman, A. J, Blake, Geo. Lewis. Gommiaae on Floaert—'S. Kaufman, Mrs. H. E. Johason, Mrg. Bartlett.
The followinj; letters were read :
LKxiNcaox, Mo., June 2, 1890. Ii. A. OooDHAK, Poplar Bluff, Mo.:
Dbar 8nt— We send lo yon to-day samples of our Beedllog apple Lafayette , which please eshiblt at tbe meeting.
When we sent yon a few specimens Anrit 25, we had twenty-«lx apples left. Of tliese only two have rott«d to date, and a few have small rotten speoks, tho- others being sound and good yet. The sampleg we send are average size. Oar largest and finest ones are all gone oat to different parties. They were kept In a small brlck-walled cellar under a tool-shed. It certainly snrprfsea as as a keeper, this being the first test. Yours truly,
TrDBNER & AULL.
BocHseTER, N. Y., June 3, 1890. L. A. OooDHAK, Esq., Secretary;
Dbar Sir— [have joet this hoar received your fiivor of 38th ult., and have aent by special messenger to express offlce, for free dietrlbatlon at the meeting, 300 copies of HortlcDltaral Art Journal, April and May numbers, which I trast will reach yon in season and be acceptable. Yoara truly,
T. B. JcKKiKs, Editor.
Mason City, Ia , June a, 1890. L. A. QooDHAM, Poplar Bluff, Mo.:
DkAB Sir— We are trying hard to do a fruit trade here, and will be glad to learn all tbe fruit men's names we can ; also, prospects of a coming crop. Pleaee- give us the names of berry-growers In the north part of tbe State, and grower* and dealers in melons lo tlie whole State. Send as the report, as usual, for which find enclosed one dollar. We sold l7,000barrelBof apples last year and hope to do better this year. How are the prospects for a crop? Yours respectfully,
PuRDv, HcQriqor & Co. ,
per D.J. Furdy..
Chableston, Mo., June 3, ISM>. L. A. Goodman, Secretary, Poplar Blufl, Ho.:
I very much regret my inability to attend the meeting of tbe Missouri State- Hortioultural society at Poplar BlnfT, Jane 3, i and 6. Our fruit crop will be an average one. Oar melon vines are looking well, and the weather for the past week
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BDUUBE MEETINQ AT POFLA.B BLUFF. 25
IiMbeen very floe fbr tbem. The yield p«r acre will be good. The averaee will I>« ftbont 6G per oent of the uBaal plant. Wet weather in the early spring cansed a great many aorea of land to lie idle. An early shipment ii now looked for. The Kolb-Qen 1b the only variety raised here for ablpplng pnrposes. In the year ISSS^ there were shipped from the melon beltover 2,800 carloads; 1689, about 1, GOO; ttil» Tear aboat the same ae last year. Shipping will begin earlier this year than last.
L. W. Dan FORTH.
KiRssviLLE, Ho. , Jone 3, 1890. HeMra. J. C. Gvaks and L. A. Ooodhui:
Dear Slra— Aa you may be aware, instead of repealing the vaporizing law, tho House of Congress finally amended lection 32 bo aa to tax spirits for vlaegar only five cents per gallon. But it appears we have not given up the contest, and will try to restore the repeal in the Senate .
There Is not time to get up long petitions, or we oonid string them all around the capital. But you are known to be familiar with the public sentiment, as well as the needs and benefits to burtloulture, and an urgent letter from you to oar Sen- ators might help enlist their activity in our behalf. Perhaps yon could also enlist a few others whom the Senators look to for iaformation on snoh subjects.
It la thought that Kansas and Arkansas Senators also need to be urged for th» measure. If you have any friends there who could reach them.
Sorry I cannot be with jon at Poplar BlulT.
Yours frateraally,
CHAS. PATTKBeON,
LODiaiANa, Uo , June a, 1890. L. A. GoODXAK, Poplar Blufi*, Mo:
Dear Sir— We have missed several Horticultural meetings and fully Intended beiug there this time ; especially anxious to see that country, as we enjoy a most liberal trade from the southern part of the State, and we know they are making- rapid strides toward the front In horticulture. Yon men of the Soutbwest must look to your laurels. However, as the btate Society and the American Nursery- men's assodatlon confilct as to time of meeting, we feel it our duty to attend the latter, and this fall w« hope to be on hand with our paper, and will try and not disappoint yon ; and we hope that by knowledge gained of new varieties to more than make np for lost time. Our brother. E. W. S., Is now In Colorado looking after orchards there, and C. M, S. and mjself leave to-night for New York. We wish you a most succeaaful and enjoyable meeting. The field there is certainly a. good one.
Regards to all friends. Yours truly,
W. P. Stark.
St. Charlbs, Uo., June 1, 1S90. Friend Goodman — I enclose yon a paper on Fruit Shipping, the subject the committee saw fit to assign me. Please submit same to meeting for consideration. I am not valo enough to think that my humble eflbrt will elicit much appreciation , yetit may start adiaousslon and thus bring out valuable information. Frult-grow- iDg is receiving renewed and greater attention In this county, and with our con- genial soils aud other favorable surroundings, Old St. Charles may yet "loom up" in rank as a fmit county.
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3S BIATE HORTIOULKJBXL SOCIBIT.
Dr. D. W. PereDBon, St. Chules, Uo., 1b vlUIng to submit a. pap«r on '"Spraying," in wbtch hehuhtd lo me experience, and over tbe resalta of whloh iie is gratified.
Too manj berries, weeds and bugs to attend the present meeting. 'Wishing f on all a profitable and happy time, I remain. Yours truly,
C. Kallinckbodt.
RBPOBT ON SMALL FBUITS.
BTBAWBERRIKS.
1. C'retoent, as usual, a berry not yet displaced entirely.
2. Schnelt's Early, a close competitor, but not earlier with me this season.
3. Jessie, a splendid berry, but not as produotlve as desirable.
4. Uionesota (Hart's), a large, good productive berry of good quality, and deserves to be retained.
5. Windsor Chief, In all respects a valuable one. e. Honmontb, of no account here.
7. Perfection (fipeeoe's), a large, handsome, good berry, and productive.
8. Warfield, a splendid one, and will be valuable.
8. HaTarland, Immensely productive, large and fine looking, but not yet ripe.
10. Cumberland, all right, but not as productive as desirable.
11. Capt. Jack, almost faultless.
12. Miller (from Louisiana}, not yet ripe, but looks fine.
13. Cornet, same.
14. Stayman's No. 1, same.
15. One from J. B. UlUer and others, same.
16. Oem (Nehring's), a splendid one in all respects.
17. TowDSend's No. 3 and No. 7, fine, both large and prodnctive.
18. Mrs. Cleveland, large, prodnctive and superior in quality, but rote easily .
19. Enreka, a beautiful and excellent berry.
20. Ohio Centennial not ripe, but shows up well .
21. Cloud {from Louisiana), a good one.
23. Sucker State, all that is claimed fi>r tt, a noble one.
23. Belmont, large and good, hot not productive enough.
34. Pet (a new one), ordinary In size and productiveness, of the highest llavor.
33. Venus also promising.
26. James Vlck, InimeDsely productive— Us one fault.
27. Olendale, a valuable late one, but Is not needed, since a better late ona
28. Gandy, the most valuable late strawberry I have met with. 20. Wilson, as usual with Missouri, not much account.
30. Babach No. 6 — In this we have all that Is needed In a strawberry, except a tittle more firmness and higher quality, but it Is good enough for ordinary tastes.
31. Ladles' Pine, not quite medium In size, handsome in form and color, but by no means productive, tt is only a berry to grow for one's own use If tbe highest q^uallty is desired. There Is no other to compare to It in high-toned fiavor.
A number from Tbompsoo, Lakewood, Ohio, set out this spring, as also from J. B. Miller, of Anna, 111., all of which promise to be valuable. Also fl^m a numl>er of others fl^m North, South, East and West, for trial.
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BUUIMBB 3IEETINO AT POPLAB BLUPF. 27
HeDrj* Sohnell, 3 v&rietleB, one golden-Beeded, vetj One.
No one ctm tell mnch about a atrawberrf set out late, the Ml before or In tbe «prlDg; henoe another »ea8oa wlll.be required to test them. Uf Intention Is to let «ach plant make a few runnera, aet them out In a new bed In July, then keep the original plants well cultivated all sammer.
CHERRIES.
I. Baaman's May, birds stripped the flesh from evei; cherry before ripe,
a. Reine Hortense, a modeiate crop, not ripe.
3. Napoleon, u usual, very floe.
4. Greenwood, a fair crop. This is, to my taste, of the best quality. G. Early Richmond, fall crop.
0. Delaware Bleeding Heart, good quality, but smaller la size than desirable.
A number of my treea were blown down and mnch of the fruit damaged by tbe hall.
Raspberries promise a fair crop, but the Qregg and Schafler were Injured by the winter; the latter, however, la making up for it by sendingnp shoots now going into bloom.
Blackberries promlae a full crop.
Cnrraats, a slim one.
Gooseberries, ordinary.
PIuDiB, BO few that they are not worth talking about.
Grapes look well, but mine have been somewhat neglected.
Dwarf Servloe berry, my trees are full, as tbe j ore every year.
Id presenting this report, It may as well be stated here that tbe reason I bronght no fmlt with me Is beoauEe if anything la exhibited by nie It would be expected to be at least respectable In appearance, which, owing to hall and delnges, mine will not do. When strong plants arc washed out to the foundation, uid others covered with soil and mntching, dressed upaswellasposaible, and then theaamedevaatattoa repeated three days after, there cannot be mnch expected. And in my situation, *nd my getting to the meeting plaoe, tbe berries will beSSboarsold before showing. Discouraging features about tbe whole affair. Low prices, etc.
Blufiton, Ho., June 3, 1890.
STBAWBBBBY OULTTTBB. F. LlONBERO, HtlGO. Ladie* and Qentlrmen :
Seeing that I am billed for a paper on strawberry oultnre, etc., I will here give my experience on the suhject.
I select. If possible, a piece of ground that bad been well fertilized and culti- Tsted the year before. 1 plow It up as late In the fall as I can, and again during the winter, If It can be done. In the spring, as soon as It la dry enough, I haul out a liberal supply of compost. If I have It, or well-rotted manure, and spread it «venly. When I am short of such fertilizers I use ground bone meal at the rate of 400 pounds to the acre. I plow, harrow a^d drag until I get tbe ground well pnl- Terized, and get a level surface.
When I get ready to plant, I get a man to dig plants ; I dress them and throw out all bad ones ; at the same time, I have hands In the fleld to plant as fast as the plants are dug. In planting I use a line and spades; this way I can get thestraight- «st rows, whlcb Is of no little importance. By this mode of planting every plant
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28 8TATB HOBTICULTURAL SOOIBTT.
bu to psBS throDgh my hands, and I am lure that do bad oaea are put Id. If I cad' notdo tt myaeir, I get some one that I oan tmet. I have ere thla dagalotof plauts- ahead and than planted them, but not with as good results. Of ooorM.lf I get plant! from a distance,! Bimply plant as soon as lean.
Soon after I get done planting, I loosen up the ground with a Planet Jr. double- vheel hoe. After this I use whatever Implements I can use to the best advantaee- wheel boea, steel lakei, sharp, clean hoes, etc. Hj aim slmplj Is to stir np th» ground after every rain, or at least onee a week. Hj principal tool however, ia,. where I can employ horse power; tbe Planet Jr. borse hoe and cultivator with wheel and lever sttachtneDt ; this latter Is very Important, as It enables the operator to open and shut the onlllvator at pleasure. 1 nse an extra set of steels I^ Incb, which 1 find very nsefnl to etlr np the ground with. They do not throw any dlrt^ to apeak of.
Daring June I sometimes apply bone meal ; I sow It broadcast and work it ia with cultivator. This mode has given me excellent results, bat perhaps It wonld be- better If the bone meal was applied at the time of planting.
As to tbe runners, I have tried to keep them down In various ways. My alov had always been to keep all of them down for a while, and then let two rows run together and those form a bed, bat have not always been snccessfol. This year 1 have parebased tbe Planet Jr. strawberry vine cutter for tbe pnrpose. This la similar to a single wheel hoe, liaving a small rolling ontter Instead of tbe boes. It- only weighs 20 pounds and does tbe work in aneat manner. 1 do not cultivate after the middle of August. After tbe ground feezes I give a light mulch of clean straw or coarse manure.
As to packing I have but little to say. Hy mode it to make the boxes tar- enough ahead so that tbey are perfectly dry when wanted for use. The crates I make over a form so as to have them all alike and none of them out of shape.
As to varieties of strawberries, C.Jack and Crescent are undoubtedly the- most profitable for me. The former Is not quite as good a grower as It might be, but if put In rich, ground together with proper culture, will yield as fine a crop as- any. It is undoabtedly tbe firmest berry we have. WarfieldNo. 3 Is doing well with me and Is ver; productive. I shall plant it more extensively. Where one ea- joys a good local market, Oumberiand la undoubtedly one of the best ; It will sell anywhere, but it is a poor shipper with me. Hart's Minnesota Is also a fine one, but no better than Cumberland with me. Jessie did weU this season, but it blooma ■o very early there Is a great deal of danger trota late frosts. Bubaob No. 5, very tine and large bat has not been tried extensively enough to form an opinion. Piper — I still plant a few on account of its fine quality for home use. Htobels' Elariy — I have bought two lots from two dlfTerent parties of J udsonia. Ark., and have also- received two dUTereot varieties under the above name. What I bought last sum- mer I tiad a chance to fruit this year. It ripened a few days after C. Jack; berries, nice, of uniform size and plant a fine grower, altogether different from the ones that. I received this spring. Ulchel's Easly (No. 2), of which I got 1.000 plants this spring, I And to be entirely different; plants more uf a drooping habit, foliag« darker and not quite as vigorous a grower as tbe former.
For late berries 1 like Cornelia fertilized with Oandy. Windsor Chief Is also- Ane. Jersey Queen is one of the flnest late sorts, but is such a poor grower that It IB not at all profitable. Crystal City, Manchester, Daisy, Iron- Clad, James Vick ftad a number of others I have discarded as unprofitable.
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aHMUEB MBETINQ AT POPLAB BLDFF. 29
DISCUSSION ON STBAWBSBBIBB — THE BEST VABIBIIBB.
Jndge Miller — If I waa cooflned to bnt one, it woald be Captain Jack. Good size, very firm when ripe ; is a good berry.
Mr. Holman — Is not tlie best in one place not the beat in another placet One grower at Bpringfteld aays the Bnbacb 'So. 5 is the Ben Davis of the berry.
Mr. Barkes— The Gnmberland Triampb is the best for as.
Secretary Goodman — Captain Jack and Cumberland Triumph, the latter vill always sell at home market. Saw the latter sell in Kansas City market at $2.60 per crate when others were sacrificed at a nominal price. Babaoh and Jessie are in his opinion the coming berries.
Mf^or Evans says his family give their judgment in &vor of the Onmberland, because they prefer to pick them, to eat them and grow them.
Judge Miller wanted to imitate Fanl that " he might boast of him- self." Amos Miller, of Columbus, Ohio, originated the Cumberland, «nd he the Captain Jack,
0. W. Murtfeldt recommended the Green Prolific as the only berry that will jellify. His neighbor, a snccessfnt grower, used only hill cultivatioD. For home nse be woald nse Oamberland, Sharpless and Downing.
Mr. Bamett has Sharpless and Monarch of the West. Has dis- carded all others. Only grows for home market, as grown on creek land with clay anbsoil.
Mr. Blnmer woald take Captain Jack and Windsor Chiefl Do not ship. Sharpless does well bat not eo reliable.
NEW VABIBTIES.
K. F. Murray sounded a note of warning ; has tried more than fifty new varieties ; has come down to Crescent Seedling and Captain Jack for yorthweet Miasonri; has picked 7,000 quarts the second season. Michels' Early from Arkansas bide fair to do well.
M^jor Evans has seen the Michels' Early fruiting for two years, and ia well pleaaed with it.
Jndge Miller had not received as good planta aa he expected, and consequently nearly a &ilare.
Secretary Goodman would not recommend efforts to grow or propa- gate new TarieUea, bnt would recommend that the experimental sta- tions should give attention to the breeding of new varieties.
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90 STATB HOSTIOULTUBAL SO0IBT7.
Jndge Miller, in response to an iDqniry ae to the Haverland, sayfl it bids very fair ; otbets made same report. The Gandy is the best late variety.
Mr. Mnrtfeldt Toald call attention to the length of the strawberry season ; it may be six weeks if varieties are properly chosen.
OTTLTITATION.
IT. p. Murray — Would plow deep in foil and use top dressing of wood asbes. Cnltivate shallow first salnmer, throwing the mnners to the row. Plant three feet apart andone foot apart in the row. Second year let runners take middle of row and plow ap old plants.
Mr, Weber — Would plow deep and cultivate with fine tooth barrow^ adjustable in widtb.
Jndge Miller — Deep plowing in tbe fall is the best thing to do.
MULOHING.
N. F. Murray — For winter mulching would nse clean straw after tbe first freeze, and not too thick, taking the long straw off in the spring. For summer mulching, wood ashes, the very best thing on the earth, to be used in the spring after the straw is taken off, and wood ashes will help to prolong the season of strawberry.
Mr. Weber — Would treat a two-year-old bed by plowing between rows and then cross-harrow thoroughly ; there wilt be enough plants left to fill up a good bed.
MARKETING).
Dr. Bates, of Piedmont, claimed -that the rate from bis place to- Bt. Louis was actually prohibition ; Cl.lO per hundred to St. Louis and $1,75 to Sedalia, Kansas City and Chicago, whUe the rate from same points on beer, ale, soda, etc., is 90o,
Mt^. Evans slated what had been done in Southwest Missouri by the organization of the fruit-growers.
N, F. Murray — Never ship in old packages, second-hand 'packagea or barrels, or in anything but standard boxes. N'ever pick berries wet or mix the varieties ; always have your stock and packages in best of style. He called attention to tbe necessity of organization in tbe sell- ing of a crop,
BASPBBEBIES — MABKET TABIETIE8. Beds. K. F. Murray had plowed up all his reds ; his market would not take them ; for home nse Shaffer's Colossal is good, Maj. Evans thinks the Thwack is best.
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SUKMBB MBiBTIRa A.T FOPLAK BLUFF. 31
Mr. Weber — The Mtvlborongh is beat.
Mr. thinks the Cuthbert best
Judge Miller prefers the Turner, Thvack and Cnthbert to the- Black. The Tnrner must be carefully grown, kept cot back, and not more than three to font canes left. All kiods should be kept pinched back ; pinches much lower than in former years.
BlaclcB.
Maj. Evans named the Hopkins, and Weber wonld add the Gregg- as doing nicely in his locality.
Mr. Dnrkes states that the Gregg in northwest part of the State does well ; also a good report comes &om Nevada in favor of the Gregg. The Hopkins was well commended.
Mr. Holman thinks the Bonanza equal to the Hopkins. It origin- ated west of Springfield ; Ib a seedling — a black cap. It is a prolifle and extraordinary grower ; ripens early ; very prolific.
Mr. Freeman, the oriKinator, was called ont, and confirmed all that the others had said abont the new berry.
Mr. Holman named the Ozark as a hardy variety -, it is a seedling of the same locality, and thinks it will help ont the time of the Gregg.
Jadge Miller said a good word for the Ozark.
PBDNma BA.SPBBBBIEB.
Mr. Weber — Cleans ont all the wood as soon as the crop is picked ; plows np the ground and the yonng shoots come and tip in the groand ^ has no tronble with winter-killing since he practiced this.
Jndgfl Miller — Would not clip in the fiill, as canes do not winter- kill.
Mr. Holman thinks the old canes have a degree of protection for the young canes, and would not take them out till spring.
THB THBBE BEST BLAOEBBBBIES TO FILL THB BEA30IT.
Judge Miller names Snyder, Triumph and Erie. Mr. Weber names Early Harvest, Erie and Snyder. Mr. Goodman — Snyder, Taylor and Briton. Mr. Freeman — Snyder, Wallace and Knox.
THE DEWBBBEY.
Messrs. Weber, Miller and others had not much snceese with the Dewberry, and especially the Lncretia.
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STATE HOBTICULTDBAL BOCIETT.
Wednesday, Jnne 4, 2 p. m. The Society waa called to order, aod the sobject of orcharde was first taken ap.
VARIETIES FOK MAKKBT — AND WHT*
Mr. Pruidenit Ladit* and QenUemtn of the MUtouri Stale SortioiUural Sodetg;
The pftper UBlgned me, "Varieties for Market— and Wby?" at flret tbonght 170(114 Beem a simple thlax — one easy of getting along with without anytroable. Snt from my staodpolDt, Itvlog as I do on the Ozark range, the sohitton of this qnestion assames a difi^rent aspect. 81no« comlog to Missouri, now a little over seven years ago, I have bought acid shipped a few car loads of apples grown In oar lodtnty, and some of the fmlt bought and shipped has been used in wbat was onoo the greatest, the grandest and best fruit state In the Union ( I refer to my native state. New York.) ; but to-day she lowers her banner as a fruit state to one of her AlBters — much yonuger, yet much greater in fmlt resources. I now refer to Orand New Missouri, greater and grander In her own resources than any other state in the Union. But I am drifting from my subject. All through the eastern fmlt belt the qnesttoD Is being asked : " What apples can be substituted tbr the Old Baldwin, B.I. GreeDlDg and Roxbnry Russet?" This question has not yet been satlsbo- torlly answered to the horticulturists of the east, and with us and among nt in Missouri the question Is coming np at nearly all twrt [cultural meetings, " what to plant in place of the Ben Davis [ the Baldwin of the East ) ; what to plant in place of Jennetttng (The Roxbury Russet of the East) and what In place of Winesap ? " A fueling of uneasiness and unrest seems to have taken bold of the horticulturists toDoblng their different varieties of fruits in different localities. There is no doubt In my mind If all parts of Missouri can grow as good-keeping, high-flavored, bright, clear-colored Ben Davis as is grown on the Ozarks, and if the per cent of the Ben Davis orchards planted in the state Is as large as has been planted In our iooallty the past few years, the Ben Davis apple will not be hard to And In the general fratt markets of the country. For within the past few years not less than 460,000 to 500,000 trees have been planted in our locality, and 1 believe 00 per cent has been Ben Davis; and I say If Ben Davis has been set out at this rate all over the ijtato, no wonder there ts a scramble among nurserymen to And an apple as good in every point as 1b the Ben Davis, and possibly a better dessert apple, ftut allow me here to say that tbose of you who have never had the pleasure of eating Ben Davis apples grown on the fruit soils of the Ozark, hardly know what a choice Ben Davis apple is. For the past tivo winters at our home we have learned to know what they are.
You wlU all think by this time that I shall put down the Ben Davis apple as Arst In the list. Well, you have guessed about right, for It is hard to go back on a friend that has helped you to kcp your apple account on the right side of the ledger, and this Is true of my dealings with this same old Ben Davis apple.
The next apple fbr a wide scope of our Ozark range, and one that has never failed, and always commands the higest price In the market, is the Maiden Bluata, and this Is about the only summer or early fall apple that I have handled with any degree of satisfaction.
While the Lowell and the Rambo do well, and some years extra well, still for general trade the Maiden Blush stands at the head of fruits in or near her season.
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SUMMBB MEETINQ AT FOPLAB BLUFF. 33
The Mftiden BlaBh apple BtiODid be plkoted for northern ihlpmeatB, u It oomee in good aeaHtii. I fonnd tble out on my trip to Baflalo, N. T. , and Elmlra, N. T. , when [ took twentj-flve barrels of Blasb, Spy and Belleflowet to help pay a small part of the expenges. Thoae apples were plohed and packed In regnlar barrels daring terrific bot weather, yet arrived In BuffiUo In nearly perfect ccHiditlon, and sold from the oar door at a handsome prodt .
I now take np the third standard apple for onr oonntry, and an apple that If properly handled will make Its mark and reputation for HIbbodiI, as did the oele- brated Tomphlnb Connty King make a repntatlon for central and weatein New York. [ refer to the Rome Beauty. This apple. I believe. In snltable localities and due and careful onltlratlon, will be one of our surest and best. I want yon to ftally understand I now refer to our especial locality.
Two other varieties, and I will close by recommending planting for test a third one. One of the coming (if not already at hand) apples is the Jonathan. While we OD the Ozarka are Dot as yet ftulttng a great many of this apple, still, with as. It Is destined to be. as the boys say, "a daisy." Coming, as It does, between the Blush, Lowell, Bpy, Bellflower andtbe Ben DavlB, it fllU the gap, and dealers can start late lo A.ugust and commence on Blush and wind up in October with Ben Davis.
Bnt we atill have another variety entitled to Iti meed of praise, as tt Is a good apple, a good grower, a good seller, and that is what we are after; you may guess, lahall call the Willow Twig.
Bnt to doBe, I want to aay a few words in favor of, to me, a new apple, new only in name, as It 1b growing In one of our oldest orchards in the county, and while packing fruit last fall the gentleman owning the orchard called my attention to the apple and gave me a good sample to have named at the winter meeting at licbanon last winter. The apple I refer to le the Clsytoa— not, perhaps, as handsome an apple as many of our other apples, bnt one of the finest dessert apples 1 ever ate, when in Its season. The tree le » strung, upright grower, bears every year, do sign of disease or deaay, and la now tweoty-lhree years planted in orchard. The owner speaka In highest praise of both tree and fruit, and always puts this fruit away for home use.
To sum np my position, the Ben Davis first as a commercial apple ; the Maiden Blasb, the Jonathan, Rome Beauty, Willow Twig, and as first stated, would advise planting 500 to 1,000 trees of Clayton to make up a commercial orchard .
And now in ooncluBion, is It not safe to assert that a new era is dawning, not only to thoee engaged In hortlenlture, but In all the avocations of life In Missouri ? People nrom all parts of the Union are writing and looking and.oomlng and already here. We have to-day men with ub from Maine to California, and I don't know as I can do better than to use tbe words of the "Uncbalned Poet" let loose on one of onr Mlssonrl towns on a Saturday when the farmers of the surrounding country go to town for their mall.
The " Unchained Poet," seeing the dlflerent classes and natlonslltles mingling together, asked different ones from whence they came, and got answers !lke tbe fol- lowing: "lam ftxim the Wooden Nutmeg State." '-lam from the rocky coasts of Haine." "I am from New Hampshire, known now as the 'Land of Woodchncke,' where there Ib $7UO,000 damage done to clover alone each year ; can't stand this." "I am from the sandy plains of Kansas," etc., etc.
After our ' * Unchained Poet " had gone the rounds of the crowd at tbe post- office he retired and got himself to a shady retreat, and there and then furnished to this Society the following, which I think Is good enough to keep : H B— 3
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STATE HOETICULTUBAL BOOIKTT.
"THBT ABB COMINCt TO MISHODBI." They are oomlog from the deBerti of the dim and duatj Eut, whete to ralM & stanted tarnlp Is the pro«p«ct of a feast, where the farms are made with ^avel and thej plow with dyoamlto, where the festive ohattel mortgage sings In dirges day aod night ; they are coming In their wagoD, they are coming od the train ; they «re coming from the regions where they struggle long Id vain ; they are coming ftom tbeoahln, they are coming from the hall; they're coming to South Hlesonrl, where there's plenty for them all.
Where yon needn't dig potatoes witli a saber and a dirk, where when rain U badly needed then the rain gets In Its worlc, where th« rivers moan and mnrmnr on their jonmey to the sea, where the breezes tackle corn atalks big as fence posts on the lea, where the savage lately wandered In his search for human hair, where his hoarse and howling war cry floated on the sommer air, where a hundred braves would answer M the cbteftalD's battle call ; they are coming to Soath Hissoarl, where there's plenty for them all.
Where the savage used to wander, yearning for a crop or hair, now the hrmer takes his porker to the nearest oonnty fair ; and the com Is dally growing, where the greasy wigwams stood ; where he burned the wailing captive, now the poultry soratch for food ; and the people who are coming to this pleasantest of olimes, show B bappy knack of keeping with the progress of the times. They will find a coun- try beaming from the sprtng-tlme to the fall, when they land In Sonth Hlssoori, where tbere'e plenty for them all.
Ukchiinbd Post.
places Ben Davis first, aod Maiden Blash for Dorthem
shipments. For the tbird he refers to the Borne Beanty ; also recom- mends the Jonathan, coming between the M. Blash and the Ben Davis. Becommends a new apple, the Clayton — fine dessert apple ; tree stroDg, apright grower, good bearer.
K. F. Mnrray woold plant in Northwest MisBonri Winesap in place of Borne Beaaty ; Willow Twig does well in same locality ; Black Twi^ is doing well also. Can grow Jonathans in northwest if planted on rich land and carefully caltivated ; wonid recommend for a sammer apple the Sommer Pennook ; large coarse apple, a good seller,
Mr. Gilbert, of Thayer, spoke of two trees of this and one of Winn- sap that yielded 137 bnshels last year,
Mr, Darkes would pick Jonathan early, picking only the best speci- mens first; it will give better satisfitction when handled this way.
THB OOMIKG APPLE.
Mr. Freeman thinks they have it in Greene connty. Dr. Bates spoke in favor of the Spitzberger.
MTSTAKBB Ilf OBOHABDIirO.
Dr. Bates has tried many kinds of pears, bat has only sncoeeded. with the Bartlett.
aUMMBE MBBTIKQ AT POPLAB BLTJFF. 35
!N. F. Murray — Bartlett, Seckel and Dnchees hare done best Id I^orthweat Missouri ; sowed an orchard in olover for two years and lost at least $1,000 ; would cnltivate.
Mr. Gilbert would trim for low tops, faaviDg tri^d high tops.
Mr. Darbes— Orchards should have rest; constant and thorough -oaltivatiou should be the watchword ; we should plant more peaches.
HOW YOUNG) i. TBBB SHOULD I PLANT ?
Sec'y Goodman — Plant thrifty one-year-old trees, with good, well- proteeted top bad; if yon can afford to, bay good thrifty two-year-olda, with one good center shootjandnevercatthe center shoot; in peaches one year old, cut back heavily.
Weber thinks a strict rule would not apply to different kinds.
'S. F. Mnrray believeB in one and two year old trees as preferable.
Piece — Boot Grafting — Responded to by L. A. Goodman.
J. A. DDRKBB, WEOTOM. Some oftAe Be*i VarietUt. Tlie ptodaetlon of d«w fruits li a work Id whloli the hortlonltariPt labors with «nerg7 snd zenl. The art of planting and selecting ■ 'best varieties " has gone on juid on, till it conid be uld we had arrived at a period almost of perfection. Otlll tbe work goes on. We are constantly renewing and discarding plant and fruit, snppljlDg their place by those tbat are superior and prove themselvea to be bet(«r adapted tn most respects to the looalltf of the grower. That all frutts of the tem- perate zone, and their many varieties, vary greatly In localities of oloM proximity to one another. Is a theory old and well established ; the dlscasalons In oar hortl- «Dltaral meetings and reports of similar bodies show it ; bencs, to arrive at a coa- «lnRloD somewhat satisfactory, every one mast experiment and make a fair trial on his own gronndB. To Illustrate, we wlil mention a case bearing fally on this point. Smne years ago the President of this Society met with great saccess In a variety of the raspberry. A. neighbor living bat a short dlstanoe away, seeing this, endeav- ored to do likewise, procured plants from the former and undobtedly treated them as he had done, bnt lulled to meet with that saccees he was working for. Where -tbe tronble really was 'tis not in plsce to discuss here, but give this only as an ex- ample that falls to the lot In the experience of thoasandB.
With pears we have not had the opportunity of selecting from native seed- lings to as large an extent as we have had in the apple, oar selections being confined mostly to those of foreign Introdactlou; therefore, it cannot t>e surprising why so many failures and drawbacks among the few successes attending the ealtnre of this ftnit in America. By mnch trying and testing from these and our native seedlings, we are now able to present a list tbat In most respects will be quite satisfactory.
For Its extreme earllness, tbe ilttle Doyenne, etc, commends itself especially fSor hmlly use.
Clapp'e Favorite— A large, handsome pear, sacceeds moderately welL Fruit must be gathered a week or more before ripening on the tree.
Margaret— Rather a new variety, has done well wherever planted.
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36 STATE HOETIOULTUBAL SOOIETT.
Bo«tl«Ker, often o&lled the Sammer SeoLel, shonld be in every coUeotloo ; tat Minafti bearer, tree very tno from blight .
Tyson— One of the earlleet, of fair size, good bearer.
The B&rtlett, for exoellenoe, etaodg at the head ; ia fitct, tt caoDot be excelled ;. It Is the mOEt popular market pear we have. With the ^ow^ tt is a general faTOi- Ite. Trees very hardy, Inmeniely prodaotlve and anoceeds everywhere.
Howell, ripening a few days later, a large, beautiful pear, one of the best on the list.
Seokel, the standard for quality In fratt; trees hardy and productive.
As dwarfs, the UuoheBS and Lonlae Sonne of Jersey, are too well known to- need any further eODiment here; they sucoeed wherever planted.
The White Doyenne, an old, almost universally esteemed variety, has always proved to be very productive, one of the beat .
The Flemish Beauty sucoeeds In many localities, a fine pear.
Of the later fall varieties we can recommend with confidence the Sheldon, the- Anjou, Ciairgeaa, Hooslc, Swan's Orange and Klefer. The Tlcar succeeds well In^ most situations.
The Lawrence, classed as one of the best of our early winter peara. Is vigor- ous and productive.
Winter Nellis— None wonld be willing to be without this ; it is decidedly th» best of our winter pears, bears regular, trees quite free from blight, fruit Iceeplng^ weU.
Easter Benrre and Pound are old varieties and tested with varied sucoesa, but should not be overlooked.
Of some of the newer kinds we have the Lawson, recommended as ripening- early, of good quality, great beauty and fair size.
In the Kmtl, a seedling of this State, we hope to find a pear possessing the qualities of productiveness^ trees vigorous and hardy, fruit fair size, good flavor and a long keeper.
The Idaho, deacrlbed as possessing every excellent point that could be de- sired. Is the creature of too great a boom at present to say aught for or against it ; it shonld, however, be tried on a moderate scale only, until the prices of the trees come down to tbe standard of others.
Id coDCluston, we may add, plant more pear trees, not of afewbut many kinds; helptomake this fruit more popnlar, more general. We ought to have pears plen- tlfnl ; let all plant many varieties ; try and test them year after year ; the price of the trees is little, tbe land they may occupy small, where we have farms and estates- counting their hundreds of acres, while the benefit may be of untold value to the present and generations to come .
Clapp's Favorite does fairly well; Margaret has done well t Sockel shonld be in every collection ; Tyson good summer ; Bartlett cannot be exoelled ; Howell on» of the best; Seokel a standard.
Dwarf White Doyenne Is one of the best; Flemish Beauty blights badly; Winter NelUs one of tbe beat winter varieties.
Erull— We hope to And many good things of this pear.
Idaho must be tried yet. Plant more and manykluds, and make tbem as cheap as apples.
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SUMMBB MBBTINQ AT FOPLAB BLUFF. 37
Cakthaoe, Mo., Jim« 3, 1890. Kr. L. A. Oooduam;
Dbar Sir — I don't know u I can give a very correct account or report of the general fruit crop and condltlODB, as I haTon't bad an opportonlty to leans much ■Kbont the conditions and proepeoti.
Htrawberrr crop very large aa to acreage; Bome aay tfaey have not more tbu lulf crop, while ottkers have a fall crop.
Raspberries will be a good, full orop.
Blackberries will be a good crop. .
Wild Goose plum a Allure ; all frozen In February ; some late bloomtug Tarle- ■tiea run.
Cherries abont half crop, some varieties ftU.
Peaohea ftazen In ICthrnary : some early varieties, Amaden and Hale's Early. Jtave some peaches.
Apples bloomed verjr fhll. Ben Pa vis and some other varieties very full; then "Will probably be a good averege orop.
Pears — all early blooming varieties frozen In February, late bloomers conslder- ■»ble fruit.
In The strawberry line I have nothing on my ground but my ovrn seedlings, Speece Perfection, Beauty, Comet and Carthage Queen, all very full and very large and line. I have had repons from a number of fl^lt-men la the last two veeks ; they all say the Speece Perfbotion the fullest and largest they have on their grounds. Comet also very full and fine. Mr. Wiggins aays the Speece Perfection la the finest he ever saw. Mr. Tucker says he never saw anything like It ; thinks It the beat thlngout. Two or three parties here have the Beauty; they say It is very jiroliflo and large : It is very fine and large on my ground. Only two or three have the Caribage Queen outside of myself, and not fully tested by them. On my ground it la very prolific and large.
Tou will probably have more full and correct reportsfhim some of my brother Jtait-growers than I have given you.
If this win be of any value to you, you can use It, if not; throw It In the waste basket. Very respectftilly, your brother fruit-grower,
B. W. Smbci.
P. S.— I should like to have been with you. but I am in the midst of my straw- l>erry orop, and Sonhegan raspberries beginning to ripen.
I wish you a good and Interesting meeting. B. W, S.
QuBOOw, Mo., June 3, 1890.
Gentlemen — I am too busy picking and shipping berries to be with you in person, so I here send a brief report, ae called for by program.
We are picking some of the fioest fruit I ever saw, and getting as low prices «B I. have ever met with In my ten to twelve years' berry-growing. Havlland, Bnbach and Jessie lead all others In size and beauty; 25 to 30 berries fill a box — all fancy goods. The older ones, such as Capt. Jaok, Windsor Chief, Chas. Downing, Cumberland, Sharpless, etc., are all line, but will have toglvewayto the last- named three varieties. Miami Is something on the Ciharpless order, and It may stand drouth better, but will have to be tested .
Stayman's No. 1 Is of the Qiendale type, and a dull color, Creeoent Seedling size ; productive, a peculiar favor not very good ; afirm one to ship— shall go lightly on It here.
JCureka Is a fine berry, bat do better than the Havllaad or Jessie.
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38 STITE HOETIOTTLTUBiX SOOIKTT.
WarfieldNo, Sdraa not look taealthj In foliage— crimped upj a fine, showy and productive berry; perfect In shape ; of rather poor quality.
Gaudy's Pride IB undoubtedly a lata one ; no ripe ones yet, and have been pleklog two weeks now ; gbows np well.
Logan — large; showy; fairly productive; very soft.
Burt Is Captain Jack, or so near like It 1 am not able to detect any difference.
Gypsy— no good.
Scbnell'i No. 9— Bxtra early; cross betwaao Crescent and Hart'8 Hinneaota; perfect bloomer ; fair quality ; handsome shape ; medium to bomII la aize ; enor- mously productive; as early as HIchel; have It on trial, and may become valuabla for early ; gives beavy. extra early pickings, aod is the earliest one I had tbia year ; picked at the rateiof M orates per acre at third picking.
No. 1— Late as Jersey Queen, of which It Is a seedling ; one-third more pro- ductive than Crescent ; paler red; one-third larger In size; plBtiUat«; rather soft and acid, but valuable for lat«.
Would say for my future planting: Havilaod, Jesele, Bubach, Gandy, HIchel and my two seedllDgs. Have I^ady Rusk growing, but no fruit yet. 1 cultivate tborongbly and often ; boe aod plow shallow ; plant In spring mostly ; will not let plants get too thick in fruit-bed ; raise less acres and better trult ; 1 mulch wltb Wbeat straw, and band-weed in spring; market In 34-quaTt Lessliebox; pay one eent per quart for picking, and assort Into three grades on a table with domestic atretched over it ; Fancy, No. 1 and No. 3 represent the three grades ; use oheoka with nnmbers on and punch to keep count wltb pickers ; uM 4-qnart stands ; every picker has a nomber, and every box he picks must bear his number, and every row picked ttaked wltb his number. This la the only way one can get good work.
Hasp and blackberries promise well, and everything else points to a bounteoaa supply of ft-olt for 1890. Wishing you many pleasant hours at Poplar BlnfF, wUl «lose my hastily written report. Respectfully,
Hehry Schnell,
Wednbbdat, Jtine 4, 8 P. M.
Society met, and the report of tbe Secretary was first tAken up. This report gave a history of the Society work and the Deeds of Society.
SBOBBTABY'S BBPOBT. Jfr. Prtndet^, Memba'» oftht MmouH Stat* BoriusaUurat Soatty, Ladiei and Otnil«menr This beautiful weather calls to mind sncb a beantlful poem that I wish to read It here :
A DAY OF JUNK. I could WTilD anrti a beanUrol poem
Abontthia annmier day , If my pen eonld (Mob the besaty
Od every le»f and ipray . And the mnilo all about me
Ot bTook and brstie and blrda — Bnt tbegreatMt poet llTlug
Cannot pnt (bem Into wordi.
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StTMMEE MEETING AT POPLAR BLUPP. 39
So I may not write down tbe poem
Aa It cuDO fiom tbe hand of Gy d In the wonderlnl wordleas laniniBga
He wiitee on tkj anil tod— Ib woidB that wc tell oiur tbonghU In,
That will make 700 feel and eee The beantlrnl, beantllul poem
rblB da; baa been to me .
U I mlsht, joa would hear all through It
The Dielody of the breeie , Like a line and fai-off echo
Of the ocean harmoniea ; Yon wonld hear the aoiiE of the TOhlna
A-awlng In the apple tree, And the voice* of racnlng watere
In their aearch for the cieat gray aea.
Yon would breathe the ttagieuce of clover
Id the wordi of ereiy line, And incenae out of the oenaera
Of hlllaida larob and ploe : You wonld tee tbrongh the worda the roaei,
With, deep In their hoaita of gold, The Bweeta of e thonaand inmmere—
Bnt woida are eo weak, ao sold.
If I only conld write tbe color
Of the lUac'i toaalng plnmea. And make yon t»el. Id a aentanee,
The ipell of Its aweet pelfamea ; It my pen ootild paint tbe glory
Of the blue and tender aky, And the peace that rarowna the monntabut,
Hy poem woold never die!
Ebm E. Rafirri In Amtriaai Gmritn.
Down OQ the bordore of Bontheast Hltsonrl, where a few yean since we had no thought of ever going, we meet the roembera or the State Society aod the Meoda of hortlcaltnre. It U a Dew aod straoge land to a gttod many of as, and we are learning more and more every year of tbe wonderful poflBlbllltlea of the State. We acoompllah a doable good In thna meeting about Indifferent parta of the State at onr r^nlar meetings. One Is, the heoeflt we oargelreg get from knowing and aeelng the fmit-growers ttom tbe different porta, learning from them of tiielr work, on their plana, of their snocess, of their failurea; getting their vlewa on the different ■nbjecta; seeing the different solla and localities; tlndlng new yarletiea and plana of ctUttvatioD, and Btndylng tbe needs of the special locations.
The other Is the help we can be to joa In your nork ; the Items yon may learn from other men.ber8 of the society ; tbe benefitsof discussing these matters with one another; the nnity of feeling such meetings awaken, and tbe after resnlts of a little entbnslasm which oar getting together gives. In other worda, one benefit is to onr society, the other Is to yon ,
We often make a mistake In tblnsing that all our work Is to be counted by the dlsensatons or the papers read. One-half of tbe good accomplished la given by oar private talks and social meetings, before and after the dally sessions. The time is never lost which we spend in examining the frnlta and flowers on the tables and If
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
10 HTATB H0ETICD1.TUEAL SOCIETY.
dlBonaaing their merits. The time Is well spent which we use in mtktng ons uioCher's acquaintance, and Id asking qaeBttons. Closeratady, more Intimate cod- Dectlon with oar fruits and flowers, is always time well employed.
Do not be afraid, thererore, to let jourself be known, or to asb questions, or to give 70UT views, or to tell your experience, or to let ua know of your succeiaes or fidlures, or to dlscues the subjects as they oome ap, or to give « theory or prodaoe hots to wirroborate them, or to state the character of your soils or location, or bring up any Item for Information or Inatrnctlan, either at the recess or at the ses- sions ; for by thoB doing, we are learning. So then, meeting here, we want to know more of thlsgreataoutheaatoountry of oar State, and we want the people of other States to know it.
It la our province, not only to learn for ourselves and to try and teach others, bnt to let the world know what our advantages are, and to Induce them to come here and locate. Our province la not only to learn, to teach, toadvertise, to ask Immigration, hut to talk of our markets, our pUos of marketing, our packages tn whlob we can market our ft^its, our commission men, our evaporators, our canneries, onr rail- roads, express companies, and our rates on them, our frnit-hongeB, plans for plant- ing, cultivating, pruning, gathering, marketing in the thousand and one diOerent ways, and our greatest bugbear, trangportation rates on our railroads and by oar express companies.
These are only a very small portion of onr work, and yet, In all probaMlity, th« most important. These matters are enough to get us Interestedand keep us busy ; but when, added to this, we bngin to think that there are a hundred other different ways where we should work, you may understand the magnitude of onr cause.
Plorlcultare, green-honae work, window gardening, (Ore at planting, landscape gardening, laying out our parks and planting them, beautifying our homes, plant- ing our nurseries, growing trees and plants of all kinds, vegetable growing, hot- bed work, growing cabbage, tomato, celery, sweet potato plants, raising melons by the thousands of car loads, and how beat to do It, planting potatoes by the hundreds of acrea, celery by the hundreds of thousands, filling our markets with (teah vege- tables from January to Januaiy, we begin to understand another phase of our work.
Beautl^lng oar homes, planting oar school gronnda, covering our court-house yards with fine lawns and trees, laying out our parks and drivea, planning our ceme- teries, and adorning all our public grounds, you may nnderetaod another step of oar plans and scope of work.
Studying our inseot-Ufe, and the useful as well as destracttve ones, knowing them by name and what they are fOr, studying day by day, watching and watttog and working, always Bndiag the more we learn the more there la to learn, always avenues opening up for Inveatlgatlon or Instruction.
Botany and Ita delightful study, the knowing our plaots, shrubs and trees by name, learning the uses and actlona of the leaves, roots, branohes and bodies, watch- ing the development of root-growth or bud-growth, learning how plants grow, how plants feed, seeking to And, If It be poaalble. If there be any way to feed plants or trees or fruits so that we can know the results as we know the efieote of com on our hogs and cattle, feeding onr atrawberrlea ao that the berry ahall be firm Inatead of soft, growing our trees so that they shall be more hardy, and you will still see another opening for study ; geology, the knowledge of our soils, knowing where certain varieties will auooeed best, seeking out the seoreta our soils have ao long held; meteorology, our climate and its influence on oar planta and trees; study of our rust, mildew, scab, rot, blight, black-knot, smut, the bacteria of our oonatrj which oauses more loss than all the floods, and Ores, and accidents of oar land, and you will still see that there la something for ua to do.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
SDKMBE MBBTIira AT POPLAR BLUPP. 11
WoQld 7011 have me tell yoa inoraf Study %ad thoagbt and brain, and mnacle, »nd work uid wait and watob ; watab, watt, work, ia the all-absorbing Idea of tbe liorttcalturiBt ; to-day I say that there opens up no broader nor more desirable profeuion In all this land ot oars than this one of hortlcaltare, no better opening tor atndy If you want to stndy, no better opportunity for laTestlgatioo than Is here -offered yoa, no sarer Beld of work than Pomona or Flora stands ready to pour Into jonr lap, no more dellgbtful scope of thought and beauty of love and Intelligence than Is placed before yon la the decorating our waste places or planting In onr parks.
8KT OUT TBEK9. 8«toaCtnniI idomtlieliamMMad,
Uskeltplaawnt sIlSToaDdi Let tin elmi. and asks and maplM
WIthtbueTareTeeiuabonDd; Lai the homa ba ao attrsotlT*
Tbattha bi>7 that U to-dar. When ba ab ill anrlva at manbood
And In foralgD lauda will alra;, Vmj turn wltb loagiug heart and torlng
To bla bomg Itaaaa hllla amons, TbioUDg bow tbe tnea an thrlTliig
Wbloh bs helped to plant wbee ronng,
Menttnaa t yea, plant anoiobaid;
Dear, goodltnoer, da yon know or lbs Wdillb tbsra la In Cult treei,
For tbe labor joa beatow ? How Iba applM turn to monej,
WIUi tbe peacbet, plnma and peara, And the Inaolooa bilstat nd cbeR)e»—
Ail tbs (rait (be orchard bearaf UtUe ohUdlen lore tbe rralt trees ;
How (bay wait, wltb what dallgkt. Pot tbe oom'DK of their bloaaoma,
Id tbelr robsaot plahand while: NeTai fliwera were halt ao pretty,
NeTeraacbpcotnalODBbown, At Dame Nature glrea tbe trait treea ,
Wttfa a glorf all then on.
SeloDt tiManpoiitbaoominon,
Aihea, linden, poplan, blichi BelthamoQt aronad the lebool-hoQie,
Plant them thlok aboat the ohnrch. ■
Have tbe otalldzen'aplay-KTonnd shaded.
And tbe pobllo walks a* well) And the loya Irom tbeae arlting
Coming ages glad will tell ; -Tbeieabsll live and grow and gladden,
While we moulder 'Death tbdr lesTea; f-et OS IbeulmproTethe preaent,
LeSTe behind as the piloeleaa tree.
— iUW. AmtU a. AOnhall.
BBINQ FLOWERS. Bring flowera. bring llowen, tbeaweeteet, thab«at, To garland tbe beda wbeie onr bnvea are it real; Bring paniiea for Ibongbta— unforgottan are tbe; < Bring lanrel foruloT7 tbey won In tbe (isyi
b, Google
42 STATK HOBTICULTUBAI. SOOIBTY,
Bring Illaoa for ;onCh— mnir fnll sre UisIt prime i
Bring oak inaitbe foTUberty, goddeu gabliniBi
Bring cbTTautheniQau irblte foi tbe truth th«T npbarej
Bring llllei foi puoe— they bntUo no mors ;
Bring Tioleti, mTTCle *nd iobm IOt Iots ;
Bring (DOTbklli tor tbougbU ot the Hmven tbore ;
Bring hawthorn for bope whlcb innDoiinta Mnhl; atiirci
Brlog tmarantb blooma for Immortal Ufs .
Bring flowen, bring flowen. the aweeteat, the best,
To garland (Im beda where o<it brarea aie at leat.
— £i»iu C. Dawd.
Would yon koow the Beorets of nature ? Study the principle of life— what It Ib, how it oomes, what It will produce, how destroyed, how broagbt to life again, how created, and yon will find yourself lost in amazemeot aod in wonder when yoa learn that the life principle, protoplaam, 1b auoh an action of matter that it Ii Im- poHSible for you to tell whether It will produce as animal or veiietable ; that the lif^ germ la of such nature that no soleDtiat has been able to dlicoTer whether it will produce a tree, a plant, a grain, a flower, a fish, a fowl, an animal or a human being. Is there not enough for na to atudy and learn T
Did yoD ever think, In mistreating an animal, that It hnrts? Did you ever think that the plants in your honse or yard, the fruits in your fields or gardens, the trees in your orchard or lawn, would cry out In anguish and sorrow if thoy oould but speak ot your neglect or bad treatment ? The sensitive plant will droop when you even touch it, and a plant in South America will weep when bruised, and another will fight with its tendrils when you step on them, by clinging to your legs.
One day In a beautiful orchard among some beautiful peach trees, one of the men, knife in hand, out off one of the main branches of the tree, and It so hurt me that I had to yell out to falm. I have been In a thrifty young orchard when dosena of trees were Bklnuid and bruised by the single-trees when plowing; and what true bortloolturlBt does not feel as if the bark was taken off his shins, or bis arms, or his hands?
Work, thought, study. Investigation, watch, wait, study, study, study, work, work, thiok, think, plan, plan— all, all these are the province of the true horticul- turist.
80 here down In Soatheast Missouri there are openings ready for hundreds of our people to come and occupy. You have the soil, the climate, the markets. All that Is wanted is for people to know of the advantages you offer them. You want Buooessrul fruit farms, to show what can be done In all these different departments of work. If frosts do not settle In theae rich bottom lands, yon should grow tho largest anples In the United States. On these hill-tops you should grow the beet in quality In the world. If you have any facta to corrolwrate these statements, here is the time and plaoe to let your light shine and the word go abroad that fruits can be grown In Southeast Mlsiourl.
Tlie melon Interest baa grown with wonderful rapldllr In some of these eona- ties, until they have become famed all over our country. Earnest, enthusiastio, Judicious combination In the frutt-giowing business cannot Ml of success, and aa soon as we can let It be known, the tide of immigration, which has already set Missouri ward, will increase ten-fbld.
All over our State are scattered our entbnslastic workers by the thousands ; aO,000 farms are devoted to the oaose of horticulture In some of Its branches ; 100,- 000 people are employed on the fiurms and places thus owned by hortionlturistB ;
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_H_'V|1>
SUHMEB UBBTINQ AT POPLAR BLUFF. iS-
$10,000,000 will not cover the worth of these products to odt State, and $10,000,000 m<n« will not give fhe T&Ine and satisfaction to onr people for the use of these at thetr homes.
Now comes the demand to let this be known, and how best to do It is one of the great questions of the day. Meeting together ; knowing eaco other ; working In unison ; oalllDg fOr help ; reporting our sacoesses ; letting the facts be known ;. tending it out through the papers; making exhibits of our products; calling the attention to oar work by the united effort of all our members; aeitdlng ipertMBW over the countrj ; showing at oar Mt«, all trf them, every county fair and every Aflrlet Tair; spreading oar circulars on every train which passes our town ; united, perelstent, energetic, enthusiastic work and talk, talk and work, and our sucoesi- is sure.
The World's fair, and what shall be done there, is a question which should eome up for discussion and for suggestions. At that fair for six months we should have a fine collection of ffnlts In their season, and a grand collection of all tho fruits grown in Ulssouri in Qce, large glass jars for continuous exhibit. Thia should be done, in connection with the other exhibits of the State, In a beautiful building of our own, where all the products of the State can t>e together; $10,000 will not more than cover the coat of such a display of horticnitnre as can and should be made.
The State society should take charge of this work, and every specimen and every exhibit should be lat>e1ed by wbom grown and where grown, so that every portion of the State shall receive its Just honor.
Our work for the past six months has been one of growth and advancement . Foar new eocletiee have organlxed, Barry, Atchison, Camden, Christian. We have now as many well-organized societies as almost any other State In the Union, and our work is being done more Judlniously and systematically. Only the d I stance from (he well-«rganlzed portion and busy eeason prevents there being a crowd of a hundred or more here as is nsaal, and the room would be filled with the localattend- anoe.
The past winter has been one of extreme moderation. On January 1 you oonld see the pink of the pescb bloom, and It did eeem as If we should see them open out on the warm days, and have ripe peaches In April. In February ther» were many trees In bloom, especially in South Missouri, and nearly all of them were ready to open . On March 1 the cold wave swept down from the snows of the North, and our hopes were blasted. Since then they have been still further hart by later frosts, and, like our Kirksville man has said, they have been killed three times and are dead. But a few remain and most of those seedlings. The rains have been extremes ; In the eoulhern part of the State there never was known such floods and inch heavy rains, while In the northern part there has been no heavy rain since last November; especially Is this trae In the northwest. But in spite of all these drawbacks, there will be abondant f^aits. Berries, grapes, cherries and applet give promise of a bountiful crop.
The iaat winter some members of our society met with the State Board of Agriculture in different parts of the State to talk hortlcalture. and I think one of our otScers was at this point These institutes are a help to our people in getting them to meet, get aoonalnted and talk over the matters of agriculture.
Our report, delayed as nsual, notwithstanding our manuscript has been ready «lnca January I ; we have now about half the work done, and I hope it may hft ready in a few weeks at the farthest. It takes every bit of enthusiasm out of me to have matters thus drag along, but as It cannot be helped we must endure th» best we can.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1^
44 8TA.TB HOBTIOULTUBAL SOOIKTT.
The report of tbe Teue meeting I have made to the loclety through the "Bnral World." and U will be pabllahed in the next report.
Ornamenting pQbUcsoboolgroiiadaha« been another Btep In the rijuht direc- tion, and tbe tfaoniand or more trees plant«d on the grounds of Drar; oolleg« at Springfield last spring was a work well done by the society, and next spring we will have another call opon as for another donation and another planting. Onr worli is oonttnaally growing tn this direction as in all others, and when we get ail ■our college grounds ornamented we will find something elae to do.
Tbe Shaw School of Botany is a grand, growing worii Inangnrated by Henry Sbaw of St. Iiouls to give many a young man an opportunity to take a special -course In the science of botany. A good opening is here ready for all those who will step op and use it. Even scholarships of two or three hundred dollan are ready for a few of onr young men tf they can get them.
OtIB BIBD8-LET VB PBOTEOT TEEM, THET ABE OUB BE8T FBIBND8.
Tiilnk or Tonr woodi and Diehaidi withoDt blidil
Of empty nests that ollng to btmgbi snd bsuni, A* In sn idIM'* brain remembBred woidi
Hang Fmpty 'mid tbe oobweba ot bli dreainil Will bleat of flook* or baUowIng of heida
Hake np for tbo lost mnaic, wben 70DT Maini Dng homs the tUnnj harteat, and no mora Tbe faatbeied gleanma loUnw to ;onT door?
Wbati wonld yon talber aea the Ineeaiant atlr
or loeaot* In the wlndrom or tbe hay. And heai the lociut and the graaahopper
Tbeli' malaneboly hnrdy-gnrdleapla ? Ii thia moTe pleaaani to ynn than the whiT
Of meadow-lark, andbeTinaet loondelay, Or twltlBT or little fleld-rana, at yon takn Tonr DOonlDg In tbe ahade of bnah and brake!
You oall them thlersa and plllegen; but know
They an the tringed wardcDe of your fanua, Who ftom the ooni-llelde drlre the Ineidlona roe,
And rrom yonr harreat keep ■ bnndred barmai Et«d the blBokaat oT them all, the etow,
Randtoa good aerrice aa yonr man-at-anna, Crafting tbe beelte In hla coat-of-mall. And dying havoc on the eing and snail.
Think. evBTy morning whan the son peepa throngh
The dim, leat-lnltloed wlndnwa of the grove. How Jnlillant the happy binla renew
Thai! old melodlon* madrigals of love I And when yon think or this, remembar, too,
'Til always morning aomemhere. and above The awakening eontlntnta, Xrom shore to shore, Somewbera the birds are singing sveimore.
Lodft^el/Mc.
I quote from my old reports tbe following as being our views at this time : ■ ' [ tell you there la no more noble occupation in aU the realms of business and profbsBlon In all this broad land of ours than tbit oD'ered by horticulture. There ta nobetter opening In any line of business than horticulture offers. There Is no more
D.-inz'i:;!., V^H_H_'Vil>
SUMMEE MBETIWa AT POPLAB BLUFF. 45
laoTfttlve poBltlon offered anywbere tban thoae offered to the entomologrlst, botft- nlst and hortlonltnrlBt. Will yoa toll me there is no chance tor growth In know- ledge—that the way for study Is blocked up for the bortlonltnrist ? I say that tt presents greater Indacements and opportnnltles than can be fonnd in any other pro- fessfoD.
"Our agrtcDltaral colleges are calling to-day all over the land tor good bota- nists, eotomologlats, landscape gardners, florists, and fruit and vegetable growers, In faot horttonltorlats, which embraces ill of these.
' ' And so It Is with the Tialt Interests ; we want good, Intelligent, enthusiastic, systematio. Judtolons fruit growers, on the cheap, rich, fbrtUe lands of Missouri ; men, and women too, who will plant good large c<Humeroia1 orchards all over our State, who will use as much Judgment, as much brain, as mach money, as do onr other bnstDess men, as do our cattlemen, horsemen, sheepmen, or merchants even, and then we will see this wonderful State of ours produce more fruit than Is now grown by any Statdof the Union.
' 'Onr Society has been the means of awakeclDg an tnt«rest in this work, and hat developed more Investigation In the last few years by the fruit men of our State than has been accomplished In many years past.
<<9ome of the work accomplished has been the awakening of a new Interest, and of developing new material, or bringing out dormant material, and we trust tbat the good work has but Just begun. We have shown the world that we oan grow as good fruits as oan be grown anywbere In the United States, and now we want to develop that Interest more largely.
"My friends, we of Missouri do not know one hundredth part of the capabili- ties of OQi State as yet. (t Is the aim and pnrpose of onr Society to let the people of other States know some of tbeBe capabilities, and then help to develop them.
"[q all the realm of labor or professions there Is nothing so fascinating as the- ■tudy of hortloultnre. There Is something so atttactlve In the work that very few ever give np the study when once well begun, and then we see every man who haa made hia thousands In the busy cities look forward te the time when be can enjoy himself OD a form or In the horticultural field. We have then a glorious and wide- spread field open before us, one which needs Investigation and study ; one which presents the grandest opportunities for the stndent to enter; one which Is Just entering on the threshold of science; one which has few known laws and man; chances for experiment.
" The hot Is simply that we are stepping upon a higher plane of horticulture year by year ; we are learning new facts day by day ; we are grasping some of the wonderful opportunities which are opening to onr view ; we are resllzlng the won- derful posslbtlitlesof our loved profession; we are beginning to see the raagDltnde of this fruit business ; wc see before ng a field as broad as our laud— avenues open- ing In all dli ections tor the young men and women, and positions ready and wait- ing with no one to fill them.
" Car Htate la getting to be a wonder to the eastern people in the amount of fmtt It produces, and It is going to be a still greater wonder. Not one-tenth of the tiaXt is grown that we will be In the future. The great poBsibilitles of onr State are joat beginning to be known. I believe that I am right when 1 say that onr State will be the greatest frult-prodnclng State in the Union. I believe It possesses the soil and the climate for this very end.
"The Ozark mountains and the southern slopes are to be a vast field for the oTohardist. Here we have the mild climate, the height above the sea, the protec- tion of the pine trees and the higher polnta of the mountains from the north winds ;
J
46
STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL SOOIBTY.
the' protection of the woods ftom the Boathwest 'hot winds;' tbebestofwiter, tbe best of soil, the best of fruits, and consequently the best of hebltb. The central jias the river blnffb, the flne prairies, the rich bottoms, plenty of timber, plenty of prairie, to satisfy the most exacting agrloaltnrlst. Here tbe apple is a success, and the peonliar limestone formation gires us the brightest colors to our frolts. The northern has mnob of tbe warm soil and the climate just suited to prodnoe many of those northern apples that are j ustly celebrated all over the world."
TBBISUBEB'S BEPOBT.
D. S. HoLHAK, Treasurer,
In aoooont with Missouri Horticultural Society.
Total 2,230 13
fiy amount paid warrant 142.
For expenses, £*. O. bills, express charges, printing, etc. By amount paid warrant 143, Dec. IS, 1889
For premiums anil expense of winter meeting. By amount paid warrant 144, Jan 2. ISDO
For Secretary salary for Deoemlier ,
P. 0.bUl
Trip to Jeffencn Cltf
Express ctaargea
By amount paid warrant 146, Feb. 3, 1890
Secretary salary tor January
Express
P.O. bill
Printing
Expenses to Farmers' Institutes
P.O. bill
By amount paid warrant 146, Harcta S
Expense N. F. Murray to Farmers' Institutes
" Henry Speers "
8y amonnt paid warrant 147, March G
For enlomologlcal work. By amount paid warrant I4S, March 6
Expenses to Austin
Secretary salary, February ■. ,
By amount paid warrant 148, April 30
tCiprese
Expenses to Springfield
' ' Marshall
Printing ,
P O.blM ,
Secretary salary for March and April
By amount paid warrant l&l
Secretary salary and expenses for May (bill 16). Sy amonnt paid warrant 1B2 (bill 17).
For premlnms and expenses paid at Poplar Bluff summer meeting. , By amount paid warrant 164
Printing
Postage
Balance account
{108 07 213 SO
6 00 4 SB 13 GO IB 87
9 60
13 20
14 80
BO 00 U3 16
mn
10100 43 30
eessa
Total 8,230 IS
.y Google
STJWMBB MBBTIIfG A.T FOPU.R BLUFF.' 47
Tour Committee on Finance beg leave to report that the^ have examined Treasurer's report, warrants, receipts and Itemised list of same, and find them to be oonect as reported. S. W, Qilbekt,
J. A. DuBKEs,
H. P. MOMUY.
Adopted.
BBPOBT OF OOMKITTBB OH FRUITS. •nUWBEIUlIBS.
J . G. Evans, Harlem, flrst premium $3 00
(Cumberland, Warfleld, Jessie and Bnbaota No. 6.)
G. S. Davis, Springfield, second premium 3 00
(Cumberland, Bubacb, Miner and JewelL)
S. W. Gilbert. Tbayer. third premium 1 00
(Cbas. Downing, Crescent and Captain Jack.)
Five Lawver apples, A. Zeltloger 60
five La&jette apples, Tnebner A Aull 60
One box cherries, Mr, Murtfeldt BO
One t>oi Napoleon, Eelne Bortense and Elton, 8. Hiller CO
Five Jars of fruits, E. E, Easdale 1 00
A collection of apples, by Conrad Hartzell. of 8t. Joseph, Ho., of 1889, 1888 and 1887. all In a fair state of preservation, those of the last two years as fresh appar- «Btl7 as when gathered ; premium, $6.00.
Saudel Miu.aR, W. C. Fbeemah, C. Barkabd.
BEPO&T OF OOHMITTBB ON PLOWBBS. Beit basket roses—
Mrs. D. S. Holman, Springfield, Brat premtnm $3 00
Best oollectloD cut roses —
C. W. Murtfeldt. Kirk wood, first premium '. 1 00
Best collection cut flowers—
Mre. H. E. Johnson, Poplar Blaff, first premium 8 00
SaHUEL ElUVMAN,
Mrs. G. T. Babtlott. The essays were iDteispersed with recitations and songs, which made the eveninf; program both valaable and interesting.
Seobbtaby.
oontba.st of thb timbb teibty tbabs ago and kow.
C. W. XUKTFBLDT, STRKWOOD, HO.
When, on a certain occasion during our late onpteasantneBS and family Jar, Llentenat Dash excnsed himself to General HItcheD, the astronomer and prince of lecturers, for being five minntes late, he said; "General, I am very sorry that I have kept you waiting." "Sir." said the General, "five minntes Is a long time ; I have been In the habit of dividing seconds Into tbonasndtbs." "A seoond la a long
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_IV
48 STATE HORTICVLTUBAL SOCIETT.
Ume,"uld ftwktoh-makertoroe, "if Ihad acted promptlj 107 child would nothaT» fallen; I mUud tocatchltbyaaecond.'' We read In the record of races either- ODe-half or three-fourthe uf aiecoDd. If dow we consider theM facte, let me Ba7 to 70a that
is really a verj locg time. When Bro. GoodDMn, or some other good roan, Buggeated that I shoald on this ocoaelon, for jonr entertainment, contrast thirty years ago- and the present, I concluded that he or they were intent that I should thus publicly proolatm myaelf an old man. I ara certain that the friends present, and especl&llj the ladies, will say, as with one voice, ''he does not look so very old, now does hef" Let the verdict be what It may, the fact remains that, according to the Amerloan standard of majority, I was old enough to vote thirty years ago. Strange as It may seem to you. I could tell of more things, and with clearer Ideas, that happened prior lo 1800, than of those that occurred aince that date. Hen of years live In the past, and remember more clearly events of their youth and early manhood than those of more recent years.
[ think It would be unwise to say a word of the early sixties. These embrac» the most momentous events In the history of the United States since the declaration of their Independence from the mother country. And as a nation we never mad& history faster or more Interesting to the student of to-day tlian at that time. We are all happy now, and let as trust, thankful, also, for our present proaperoas and peaceful condition as a nation. There is no nation on this round earth of ours that occupies a more respected or exalted plane than these United States of America. The stsr-8p angled banner is respected in every land and on every sea. While th» most civilized nations can only keep their respective positions by having immense standing armies, which can be mobilized and started Into almost instant activity and bloody war by the firing of a single cannon at the pleasure, or the oommand, rather, of a single man, with or without cause, we Americans are persuaded that even oar army of twenty-five thousand men la too large, and might be reduced without danger from foes within or without. The American people do not believe in war, but In arbitation. Onr aim U not so much to be feared as to be honored and^spected. "Let us have peace," Is our watch- word. And peace will be onrs so long as we remember that "Righteousness alone exalteth a nation, and sin la ^ reproach to any people 1 "
Mr. President, there is not time enough at present to refer, If ever so briefly, to the Immense strides which have been made daring the last thirty years In the realm of science, of Inventions of labor-saving machinery, and In every depart- ment of mechanics. Why, air, we have even harneseed lighting, not only to carry our messages over afi lands and andemeath the great ocean, but we make her draw our stieet cars, and ere long our freight trains also. All this might with profit, and perhaps wltb interest also, be embodied In a contrast of thirty years ago and now.
Hr. President; and friends, if what I have said thus tM appears seemingly irrelevant on an occasion like the present, please pardon roe, and I promise to con- flue myself to agrlcnltural and horticultural matters, hardly knowing where to begin and how to end. Allow me to aay that the Missouri State Hortlcaltural society was an Infant scarcely out of long clothes In 1860, being [if my information is correct) only three years of age. There was ooState Agricultural society, nor yet a State Board of Agriculture at that time. Neither had Missoari a State Agri- cultural college, and no Agricultural Experiment station. The State Horticultural socletyhadamongltamembersmany "Suckers"— beg pardon, I ought to have said
u Cookie
BUMMER UBETINQ AT POFL&R BLUFF. 49
IlliDolMDB— balllDg from Alton and Tlolnitf. They liked to come to St. LoalB onoe Id a while. TbeM were men of expert enoe m well as brains. Whj, sir. I niTMir wa.% present on one occaeion aa the representative of the "Prairte Karmer."
For man7 years Hon. Henr; T. Hndd wu president. J'he sooletr generally met in ons of tbe court-rooms In St. Louis ; the most Interesting committee waa the one on wloos. The array of bottles In one of tbe ante-rooms was very forml> dable, and tbe names on the labels were what Is most forcibly expressed as * 'Jaw- breakers." Do yon ask: "Were yott a member of said committee?" Certainly. Aoi not I a German? That seems to have been the sole reason for my selection, beoanse I knew nothing of wines, nor yet of tbeir mannraoture. My native, conn- try Is too cold to grow grapes fi>r wine. Bnt I conld handle a Fabcr No. S. and tbe other members tested or rather drank the wine. "Bnt," says tbe queerlst, "do yon wish to be understood that you never tested the wine yourself? " Certainly not. Nevertheless, I was a poor committeeman. And after I drew out from one of the wine growers the fact that when nature aid not put tbe sugar Into the grapes. Belcher's sngar refinery could fnrnlsb that necessary ingredient, and the Hlssourl flowing right by Hermann could furnish all- the water to establUh the proper balance, "Othello's occupation was gone."
I am not sorry that for many years now tbe Ulssoorl State Horticultural Soci- ety has not appointed and not needed a committee on wines. Notwithstanding, 1 am very fond of good grapes ; they are a delicious and wholesome frail, and we can never raise too many. So long hs California and Kelley's Inland fill our home markets with this fruit, It wilt pay for us to plant more vines, and of the best table varieties; supply our own markets and save the cost of transportation. Mtssonrl can raise better and sweeter grapes than the Concords and Cntanbas grown on Kelley'ti Island, and so lope as bagging grapes Is a Isure preventive against tbe rot, the cultivation of tbe grape, and In greater variety, shontd be the aim of every bertlcultnrlet .
I stated a moment ago that this Society usually met In St, T.auIb. Members from a distance were entertained at the Planters' house (then tbe leading hotel), at greatly reduced rates. I am decidedly In favor of the present Itinerancy, and more pleased with the making of new Mends than all hotel style. I have been highly bvored in tbla rcapeot, and the friends of long ago are fast friends still, almost without exception, not In Missouri only, but In Kansas also. In this method there la BO mach more chance of hortlcul to ral misalooary work. Let those who prefer the freedom of the hotel patronize these very usefol and necessary Institutions.! 1 hope It will not be In my time when the hotel will be anything bat the dernier resort. Let me not be misunderstood — I do appreciate a good hotel— and are they not all good ? hut unleaa you bring your company with you, you will be lonesome in the mldyt of a crowd at a hotel.
This brings me down to the most Important point of contrast between to-day and thirty yeara ago. There la an old proverb, viz, : '*lf the mountain will not eome to Hobammed, Mohammed muat go to the mountain." We could scarcely expect a hundred or even fllty farmers and horticulturists of this county to make a Journey of 200 or more of miles to meet this Aesoclatlon either at St. Loula, or Jetfer- son City or Kansas City. A half dozen of ladles and gentlemen Interested In hor- tlrnltun from Poplar BlnfT would be a crowd, and esteemed quite a turn-out, and If every county of the 114 of thla State should send that number, we, of course, would have 681 members, If all joined. Our membership for this great and grow-
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60 BTATB HOBTIOVLTIJBAL SOCIETY.
iDg State OQgbt to reach up into the thoagandB ; and It would also. If all who are mabing a living b; brmlng and hortloultare knew and appreciated all that can be learned at theae meetlnga.
Now, allow me to take a step backward. You car readily figure out that It Is le88 expensive for a few, beeidea the offlcera, to vUlt yon, than that many of you ehould leave home and work, eapeclallj In the busy aeaaon of the year ; wc ought Dot to expect It. Tet many more than are here present can or could leave for a day or two of recreation , and let me aay instruction also. The men of experience and aklll, who know whereof they affirm, and what they ate talking abont, when speak- ing the gOBpe) of horticulture— remember, pleaie, that gospel means glad tidings— have a message, and nnllke the fortunate miner, who Is secretive and unwilling that othera sbould learn where the gold can be found, they are more than willing that others should not only share but proHt by their ezperlenoe. Nay more, they are willing to speak of their own mistakes and failures, that others may escape loss and trouble.
All the matter which has been presented to yon on this oecaalon has been well prepared and mentally digested, with a special view to Interest and instruct you. Besides, these papers will be edited by our aeoomplished Secretary and preserved In a bound volume at the State's expense, one of which cornea to every member, and will be in such shape by Index and arrangement that It can be consulted npon occa- sion In the future. The membership fee Is very light, and as already stated, this association deserves andongbt to have at least five thousand <5,000)memberB. (Ur. President, when that happy day shall come, I, if there, will vote to reconsider the entertainment qustlon.] Another thing I wish to say in brackets : tbat at one an- nual meeting held in Jefferson City, under thepresldenoyof Gov.Cotmanand la the room of the United States court, every dollar received for membership fees was ^ven tbejanitor, and even he did not think the compensation extremely liberal. The time to sneer at"book-farmlng''lBlongsinoepsBt. If the hortlouUurlst of the present day is not abreast with the times. If he is so wise that be cannot be taught anything. If he doea not read agrloaltnrai papers, or books on horticulture and oor- related science, or a polllloal journal that has a well-regulated and edited agricul- tural department, he is Justly entitled to be called an ''old fogy," and it needs no prophet nor the son of a prophet to predict that bis influence and his bank acoount will always be exceedingly small.
Thdbsdat, JoDe 5, 9 A. h. Society was called to order by the PreBideat, and the first paper read was on pear culture.
WILL PEAB8 SnCCBBD ON THE 0ZABK8 1
This subject having been assigned to one for a reply, I fear will not have the Justice done it that otherwise would have had, had It been assigned to some one who has had more experience and observation than myself. If by giving my slifhC experience and observation I can give the least Information, I shall feel that my effort is not in vain .
lly experience has been more as an amateur than practical growing.
SDMUBK MBBTING AT FOPLAB BLTPP. 61
TLe planting and growing of fnilt tbrougbont tills region at preeant ts cod- flned whoUy to the irlnter apple tor commeidal pnrpoaet. Tberefore, no one to 1117 knowledge baB ever attempted to grow pears only for family uee. The opinion li preralent with plaatera that the pear will not grow bore. But f roni maQj Inqoirles, I learn that they bought their trees from eome agent ; do not know the variety they bonght, nor do not know whether they bought itandards or dwarfa . I almost lorarlably learn they were planted In their gardene only to grow for a short time, and die with blight without prodneing a single speelmen. Fifteen years ago I planted fifty dwarft of Tlcar, Bartlett, Louise Bonne, Belle Lucrative, DuoheiB, lAwrence and B. De Anjou, In a stiff, red clay soil. They grew very vigorously, and beftore fruiting they all died with bllj^t, excepting one l)artlett,.ODe B. De Anjoa and one Belle Lucrative.
The Bartlett and Belle Lucrative have borne very retcular and heavily.and the treen atlll remain small but bealtby.
The B. De Anjou was planted over aa elgbt foot drain, that drains my cellar. This one has never borne heavy, but is now a large, healthy tree.
Query — Are the health and vigor of this one tree caused by the uoder-draln ? I leave this to he answered .
1 have some dwarf Bartlett, Duchers, Clapp's Favorite and B. De Anjou growing In a stllT, red olay set to clover and red top, that have produced three heavy crops of very fine fruit, and the trees, with the exception of the Dncbess, are looking very healthy.
I have seen standard pears planted that grew finely, produced one crop of fine ftnit and the next year blight and die, excepting the Seckel and Winter Nellls ; they are stlU looking healthy.
By way of experiment, I have tried the budding of pears on their own roots where the seed had been planted to remain, to try to asoertain the iuflnence and andlsturbed tap-root would have on the life of atree; they are all gone by blight. As yet with me, the pear has never been troubled with destructive Insects as much as the apple. The borers, both round and flat-head, so tronbleaome to apple trees, I have never as yet found In pear trees.
The greatest enemy I have found to contend with is the blight. Prom what I have seen and can learn of the suocess and failure qf pear grow- ing In this section, lam led to the opinion ihat the dwarh are preferable to the Btandarda ; that a later variety like the B. De Anjou, In the bands of an observing eoltivator, grown and shipped In carload lots like apples, will prove profitable ; that the pear will prove only of a short duration, 1 have 00 doubt. Secretary Goodman did not agree with the paper. Judge Miller reported that the blight or late frost of last year vaa more severe than all his troables id the past forty years. Will only plant dwarf hereafter.
A. A. Blatner of Frederichtown baa never seen the blight, and has never misst'd a crop antil this year. The pear does as well in Soath- eaet Missonri as anywhere in the world ; has never seen any blight ; has lived there twelve years.
Major Evans says the pear is doing well on the red lands of the Ozarks, as he knows by actual observation.
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62 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
Mr, KanfmaQ of Oregon says tbat in tbat county the pear bears ever; year, and hare been bearing ten to twenty years.
Mr. Gilbert knows a pear tree ovei forty jeara old and it has never missed a crop.
Dr' Bat«B of Piedmont hau four old common pear trees ; has never had blight on the common trees. Bartlett has done best ; nses wood ashes as a fertilizer; other new binds blight with him.
Mr. Mnrray thinks pears can be snccessfnlly raised in ^Sorthwest Missonri.
E. B. Lentz has not heard of any blight in this county and no entire failure.
Mr. Lewis of Greene county has seen pears doing wf 11 abont Springfleld, and believes they will do well on the Ozarks.
"S. F. Murray grafts the pear on the apple roots ; has done so for many years ; they give oat pear roots and the apple root withers away.
The Le Oonte pear was releffated to its native locality.
Secretary Qoodman emphasized the plan of Rafting the pear on the apple root; had done so for years ; the pear will get on its own roots.
HinDBANOBS IN FBttIT QBOWinc.
A. A. DLUHBR, FRBt>BRtCin'OWK, MO.
OeniteriKn of lAe State EortieuUttral Soeieig .-
Ignomnoe of how to do it aeemi to be the main point.
I oannot conceive wbf , in k State bo well fuvored b; climate, soil, near mar- Icets and cbeapneaa of land. In tbe great State of MIbboufI, a man owning a few arvea. even a few rods of ground, can be IndlfTerent to the enjojment found In aet- tlngouta few strawberry plants, a few. curraot«, goo ae berries, giapevlnes and fruit trees, particularly apple, pear and plum, wbicb aeldooi fall to reward his . abor. Vet every LuniaD being, old and young, tioh or poor, loves to eat fiuitl
Trees and plants are very cheap, the requisite labor easy and delightful. What can tbe biodrance bef
I^t UB go over tbe flutltloaa life of cities, whose surface is polished for hiding itsflltb. We cannot dissemble that a chaos still exlats, even in rural districts, wherein fruit-growing Is thought to require particular skill and knowledge to suc- ceed, whereas It Is as simple as planllng beans, peas or potatoes.
To Illustrate: Years ago while hard at work setting grape-vines In Pike
county the following colloquy took place : How do you do, Ur. B ? my name la
A and my farm is about — mtleB from here. Happy to mnke your acquaintance
Mr. A ; will you permit me to continue my work? Ctrtalnly, sir; what are you
planting? Q rape-vines, air. Grape-vines', will they grow In this country? Time win show, sir. When will they bear? On the third year. Ubree years; how will you live then? By eating and drinking. Yet. some are tempted to try ; make a little hole, pack In tbe tree with cloee roots and next day go to look at It If it has any fruit.
They forget tbat our bed must be soft and large enough to display our mem- bera for flndingirest, and tbat a tree requires the eameconditloDs to spread Its roots
D.-inz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
BDMMBB UBETIHG A.T POPLA.B BLUFF. 53
and tbrlve. Some Baj : When Trait Ie pleoly It canaot be sold; whea trees do not beu tbey are aselesa.
Many years ago MrB. S. B bad ordered 100 apple trees for t30. They were
brODgbt to hei husbaod, wbo told the man be dtd not want any iuch staCT on bU land. "But your wife ordered them, ilr, and must be paid." Come to the bouse. Strah, did yoa order tbls stuff from this man? I did, aod I want tbem properly set, Well, then.fou will have to pay for them ; I won't give a ftrthlng for tbe ■toff. Uod'I worry yourself. I'll pay for the treen ; 1 have saved that much by weaving carpets and selling eggs. Darn tt, that money would buy ten ptga. Seven
years thereafter, while the field crops almost failed, Mrs. S. B sold $08 worth
of apples, and Mr. B not only converted bis disposable acres Into orchards.
bat became an enthaeiaatio fruit-grower.
Many say the vicissitudes of cllujate, chaDges of weather, drouth, Inseoti, birds and fungi render fruit-growing precarious and cause failures.
It is true sometimes there are partial failures in fruit-growing, as there are In wheat and corn . If there be a man who can show me a business exempt from drawbacks and failures, I will show him a white fly. I cannot believe that a rural man Is Indifferent and Insenslbleto the charms of the creative power Ood has given him of oonvertlng a barren, unproducing soil Into an £den, except through Ignor' anee, the main hindrance In fruit-grow lug. Have we any means to dispel this ignorance ? None, except the missionary work of the State Horticultural society and the apostolic works of the county hartlonltnral societies.
In Germany budding and grafting Is taught at school; France bas her ecole»- agricolesetcollegee-vitlcoles; Italy has her collegi d' agrloalturaedl vltionltora. We have nothing to awaken In our boys and girls a laudable spirit of bortloulture bat one agrloultural college at Columbia ; do fostering care by the State, but a beg- garly allowance to help In printing your report.
Tbere is another hindrance In raising that most noble fruit, the grape. While some counties have combined, spent money for pamphlets, maps and other docu- ments to attract Iminlgrat Ion, sumptusry laws are promulgated to prevent its effect. No Immigrant will ever settle where such laws exist, nor devote hie time and money In dressing our Inviting hills with fineyards, beoauae lie cannot dispose of his sor- pias trait. You say , we want no drunkards here ; [ say, amen ; but wine and wblsky are two difTerent things. One glass of the former (for onr stomach's sake and infirmltief) renders a man wise, while one glass Of tbe latter renders a man crasy and equalizes falm to a quadruped, with the only dlfferenoe that one goes on fonr lege, the other on two. In France, Germany and Italy every human being, old and young, riob or poor, use wine or beer; yet Paris, Berlin and Borne taken together do not show so many inebriates In a day as a single American city.
A stroke of the pen cannot reform a people ; vice will ever be connected with
Jf man was taught how to uphold tals own dignity this Ignorance would disap- pear. Men of Ideas, yours Is tbe task. Let it t>e: Poit teaetrat liac Are tree peddlers a promotion or a hindrance In fru It-growing f I bold that an honest man offering to sell honest trees is a benefactor, and as «ncli 1 venerate him ; but to find such a maa among the tramping charlatans that Infest the country, we need the Inuterr of a Diogenes. Tbe dleappointments and failures often experienced by the crednions purchaser In trees and plants, at ezor bitant prices, la communicated to his friends and neighbors, who attribute tbem to soil, climate and otber erroneous local reasons. Certainly this is a hindrance to powtng fruit. But the tree vender is only an agent ; on the head of bis employer ahould fall tbe odlam of his actions .
64 STATE HOBTICULTDBAL SOCIETY.
K«ltable naraerles takve no need of anch men and do not employ mem. How- ever, Bome nurBerleii need tbem ; if you look at the end of their adTertleement you will find these wordi : " A f;«DtB wanted. No prevtouB experience needed." They ought to add : " But a slick tongue."
I lay, let those Itinerant adTenturers alone ; purchase your treea from yonr neareat nursery. In whose owner's reputation you can rely, and go back on bim should fall a re I ensue. Havh greedy nurseries, wanting to gobble the trade of the whole land, remind us of that Quaker's advice to ble ton : "Hake money any how;" and of that epitaph—
■'HenU»flId Cblrtj.thtwpci neai;
The more he got the more he leot ; The more he had, Ihs more lie craved, tiood Ciod! cm (noh a bdiiI be MTed? "
Oust of ajARTiNG a fbuit fabm in south missoubi, and how
BEST TO DO IT.
The inbjeot assigned me la a hard one to solve, nnleSB some special ftults are named as a basis to figure on.
Taking It for granted that our honorable Secretary wishes me to make flgures OD what mj owQ little tlvM farm haa cost me, I will do best 1 can to give facts.
I bought my farm, 60 acres, fonryears ago for {SOO. There was about ISaoreB cleared, with a badly neglected orchard of ^K) trees — log house and bam. I made no Improvements worth mentioning for two years. But at the June meeting of oar State Society at West Plains, I became very much Interested in f^nlt •growing, and returned home full of bright hopes for my foture oare«r as a hortlonlturlst. Not being blessed with a full purse, have had to make my labor do the work. Have since that time cleared 3C acres, giving me now 40 acres In cultivation.
In the spring of ISSS, 1 set out 1,070 peacb, 1. 000 apple, 50 pear, 60 cherry, BO apricot and 10,000 apple grafts, nursery stock ; spring of 1890, 160 plums, at a total cost, including freight boxes, hired help, etc., orS447.70; adding to this amount for tooU,blacksmithlog andotherexpenses$1S3 30, 1 have (000; the cost ofmy plant- ing 1S89 and 1S90. This amount Includes 5. 000 raspberry plants, and enough straw- berry plants to set one acre.
As to coat of cultivation, I prefer to rent. One tenant 1 give all he can make for three years, to save me coat of breaking new ground. The lease compels him to give all trees flrst-class care, cultivating thoroughly and sprouting as often aft necessary, holding him responsible for any trees he may damage or ruin— the value of each tree being placed at one dollar per year's growth from time of setting.
My other tenant, a practical gardner, [ furnish teams, tools, seed and feed, and get one-half marketed. This tenant makes a specialty ot vegetables for hotne market— sweet potatoes, small fruits and melons. I reserve all peaches and apples.
Our new ground Is usually quite hard and tedious to break on account of so many stumps and rocks. For first breaking I prefer to nae the home-made plow that I have named "The Onmsucker.'.' It Is made ttom a forked tree, nslng the main body of tree for the beam and the fork for a brace to rest a bar of steel W inches long, 3 inches wide and 1 j or 3 inches thick, which runs through the beam at such an angle that It will rest on the fork. We put three horses to this and break our ground 18 or 30 Inches deep both ways ; then take a 20-inch plow and turn It Just like old ground and as deep as we can. Of course the " Qumsncker " turns no
SDUMBB MEETING AT POPLAB BLUFF. fiC
fOrrow, bat bre&ke roote, teara out amall Htnmpa and roots up all the rook and toosena everjtblng eo tbat It (an be plowed. Tbe beaut; of thts plow is tbat one man eao not keep it out of tbe ((roand, no matter bow rocky or hard. Cost $3.60. We Dae Planet Junior for cultivating small fruits, vegetables and sweet potatoes.
My tenants claim tbat It costs sometbtoK besides inonej to start a fiutt farm here. They tell me of backaches, heartaches, sore shooldete, heavy shoe bills. In- sects and seed-ticks. After all, they have cause to rejoice over the bountiful returns for their labor. From tbe one acre of strawberries set one year ago wehaveploked, np to and Including June 3, 200 crates of strawberries We bave practically loet II cases throngh the glutted market at Kansas City, Lave pnt np six cases for family use and the balancehasbrougbt us at home $337.23, and we are not through picking yet. Monday, June 2, was the thiitletb picking, and we got 14 cases. 1 bave some specimens on the tables here oat of the tbirtletb picking. You oon draw your own ooocluslons aa to the adaptability of our soil to strawberry culture. Hy ground never has been manured, with the exception of a very small portion, and this part bad a heavy, rank growth of vlnra and few berries. Our raspberries are doing nicely.
I would like to Impress upon you tbe valueofsweet potatoes in apple orchards. Sweet potatoes, when properly cultivated, leave the ground In tine tilth at tbe end ot the flrst year, and tbe second and sncoeedlng years the ground Is like an ash- heap. We reseat rate of 100 to 200 bushels sweet potatoes per acre In our old , orchard, on land badly worn and washed, after having been in constant cultivation for thirty years. I now bave Missouri pippin trees, and plenty of them, too, that were set one year ago this spring, tbat have all tbe way from 3 and 4 to 15 and 30 apples on them, wberesweet potatoes and vegetables were growing last year.
Now, then, to go back and sntn up tbe cobt of starting my fruit farm, we have :
Costornurm 1 600 00
Total cost of Improvemento '. 600 00
Total Jl,200 00
I bave sold at least t300 worth of apples from the old orchard ; strawberry sales this year from one acre $387.32— to say nothing of money received for sweet pota- toes and vegetables for last two years. If our berries (includtng raspberries) turn oat as well next year as this, I will have a balance on credit side of ledger for No. 1, together with a nice, thrifty young orchard coming Into bearing. Keally. after considering these facts, we can sutn It all up and say it costs nothing to start a fruit farm In South Uissonrl, but that onr grand country pays you for starting, provid- ing you do it right. Andnow, bo-v best to do It : First, attend every hortlcultarai meeting you possibly can ; second, take Colman's Bural World and Fruit-Growers' Journal and read, re-read, and then very carefully read and remember what Is con- tained In oar State Society's reports; third, roll up yonr sleeves and go to work. Be sure you are right and then go ahead, pushing your work with all (he vigor you possess.
I will Just add that land can be bad <n our county at from cost of bomestead- Ing up to 750 per acre. By watching for a man to get sick of tbe conntry after fall- ing Id cotton, yon can buy Improved farms that are models for fruit culture for less than It would cost yon to make the improvements.
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STATE HOBTIOULTCBAI. 800IBTY.
ADTA.NTAQEB OF OBGANIZA.TION. B. F. aOLBROOK, DONIPKAK.
TbDie of as wbo are acqatlnted with tbe climate and toll of Rlpl«j oountf know well tbit it cannot be sarpasted for the quality and tbe quaatitf of tnit tbat can be grown on those hllla and in those Talteya of our county,
WbaC we Deed to make ftult-^rowlng more profitable In Blpley county Is an maaootated effort on the part of onr farmers In ft'ult-gio wing and raarkotlDK. With- out this associated effort tbe possibilities of developing tbe frDit-oultnre In Klpley oountf cannot be done to any extent. The Sural World speaks volnmes when It says: " The more fruit we have to market, and tbe nearer our orchards or fruit farms are together, tbe better it will be (or the Indlvtdaal grower. This associated effort'ls a working power which develops enterprise and honest effort."
Now If a namber of farmers, we will say ten or more, each will pot oat one acre'of strawberries, and thereby demonstrate to others the prodtablenesg of fralt- growing, tbe more timid and conservative ones will follow, and tbe whole oountry will be converted Into fruit-farms, and the financial condition of the farmers will be improved.
Sid. We want a better and perhaps more practical knowledge in frult'cnitare, , and also the demands of the markets at home and abroad. The lack of knowledge and Interest of our people in fra It-culture Is due, perhaps, to the neglect of read- ing some relisble work on hortlcnltnre ; they do not take the trouble to inform themselves about tbe profitableness of fruit raising, and therefore are always dis- covering a lion In the way. Ask them If they read the Slate Horticultural Society's report; no, never saw It, don't know what It Is. Their Ignorance of It remiodBme of an Incident In the dp.bate In Ihe Representative ball two years ago ; on tbe ques- tloa (or bill] appropriating money for tbe State Horticultural Hociety, a Represen- tative In his speech against the bill, held Dp tbe ISoolety's report, and said : "What Is this book but an advertising medium forour nuriertmen?" When our represen- tative men manifest such ignorance, what can we expect of those who look to them and are ready to follow them f T..eiiders ot tbe blind, be assured they will at last be ditched.
1 wish I could so Impress my brother farmere with the money value In frnlt- growingthat they would have an abiding faith In what our horticultural societies are doing in advancing (he Interest of every Individual, financially, socially and morally. We cannot aifc^ to neglect tbe opportunities which horticulture offers us to make our homes lovely and attractive.
When I see our young men coming onto the stage of action having had none of those Influences which come from homes surrounded with the choicest works of nature, then I know tbelr lives are liable to be void of every trait that Is attrac- tive. They are more apt to be given over to sordid appetites and base passions. Let me tell you, parents of Ripley county, under the Influence of horticulture the home becomes surrounded and made beautiful and attractive to our children, are drawn Into a closer relationship with their suiroundlDgs, and (heir silent Influ- ence upon their young life has a refining power, so that " vice and everything un- lovely and inbarmoDlous becomes hatefnl to a lulnti so educated."
PBAOHB8 — OCLTIVATIOH AKD PRUNING.
Mr. L. A. Ooodmao would cultivate the groaud coutimially after planting until first or middle of August.
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SDMHEB HBBTINO AT POPLAR BLUFF. 67
PronJDg jast as neceHaary as cnltiTatioo ; plant yearlings and ont off all Bide limbs the first year ; second year cnt top back, and each yeu cut back about one-third ; don't fear cntting. This leaves a tree branching close to the gronnd and well ronnded np. Keep the frnit well thinned ont and you will have good sound frnit, plenty of it and «f the finest size and quality.
CHBBSIBS.
Judge Miller regards the Gov. Wood as the best quality and good bearer. ,
A. A. Blumer thinks each county society can determine the best Tariety for local planting. The Early Bicbmoud the best eommeroial cherry.
Secretary Goodman recommends the English Moiello. Cherriea and the Bassiau Mulberry should be planted together ; the latter for the birds.
PLUMS.
The Wild Goose considered very reliable. Dr. Bates thinks the Weaver superior.
Judge Miller regards the Louisa superior to the Wild Goose. He spoke highly of the Yellow Prune, supposed to be a cross between the native and wild Plums.
Judge Miller thinks the Golden Beauty is nearly if not quite oor- cnlio proof; it is a native of Texas.
WHAT WOULD BB UISSOUBl'S CHOICE FOB 4 NATIONAL FLOVRBT
K. F. Murray and J. A. Dnrkes favor the Apple Blossom.
Dr. Bates wants the Sunflower.
A. A. Blumer likes both Apple Blopeom and Sunflower.
Judge MUIer would connt the favor of the ladiea and pionoance in favor of the Bose.
Secretary Goodman spoke of the beantiee of the Pansy or Violet for wide range of growth.
Mrs. H. E. Johnson would not be in favor of the Bose because of its use in England, but was in &vor of the Golden Bod.
Hiss. Murray in favor of the same.
Bev. Boggs in favor of the com tassel and the tobacco blossom combined — as combining beanty and atility.
Dr. would choose the Moss Bose.
Hartzell of St. Joseph, in favor of the Bose.
D. S. Holman was in favor of the Bose, although England claimed It as their flower.
The subject was allowed to pass for future consideration.
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BTATK HOETIOULTOEAL SOCIBTT.
PBOBPEGT8 OF OBOHABDING lit NOBTHWBST MISSOURI — WHAT ABE
THEY?
K. F. MUBRIV.BLM OBOVS.
In tbis peculiar seaeon of droutb and killlDg frostF, with our peacb orchards almost wiped out of exlstenca hj a Buoc«8f>lon of extreme hard wioters, and the fruit buds on the few left entirely killed with the severe cold of the pa&t winter, with strawberries and grapes badly killed In the Tallejs. and other fruits more or less damaged by severe frosts during the early part of May, and what Is left being already Injured by droutb, and having yet to run the gauntlet with Insect pests, the answer tn general from the average Indlvldnal would be not very bright at best; but let us not be too basty or severe In our verdict, but let us take a good look over the entire fleld and see what Is left ; let us calmly view the situation from every etaad-polnt, and In every phase of cause and effect .
First, we frankly admit that much is Irrecoverably lost, which Is very dis- couraging Indeed, especially so to the few who have made a specialty of peacb- growing, and many of our friends on the low lands who have lost a portion or all of their strawberry and grape crops have met with a real and severe lose, which tbey will no doubt feel very keenly, and they all have our deepest and heartfelt sympa- thy In tbeir day of adversity.
Yet notwithstanding the dark pletore outlined, we have mush left In North- west Missouri to be thankful for. First, we have a soli that will by far excel that of most any and all other eountrles in Its power to resist drouth. We have our high blufls and river bills on which fruit Is seldom If ever hurt by frost, and basnot been to any extent worthy of notice this season. Much of tbe fruit In thoMltsonrt bottom has escaped through the protection of heavy fog, and in all these favored sections we will have an abundant crop of apples and a fair crop of berries, grapes and cherries, also a partial crop of pears and plums. The present indications are that all kinds of fruit Will meet with quick sale In our home and Northwestern markets at good prices. Our market has had a very light and insufflclent supply of fresh fralts for some months, and the people are getting hungry for the product of our orchards and berry patches. Apples sold early In April In St. Joseph at $2 a bushel, and are now selling at S2.S0 a bushel. The loss of our peach crop and the shortage of berry crop will la a great measure be made up to tbe growers In high prices for what Is left.
Tbe very rapid growth of tbe large cities of tbe Missouri valley, and the rapid filling up of our Northwestern bt.ttes and Territories, has always given us an excellent market for all our fruit product, and of late years tbedemand for North- west Missouri fruit has been in excess of tbe supply. This condition is In a meas- ure due to tbe taut that Missouri fruit Is becoming more popular, and Is preferred and called for by a great many in preTerence to that from any other State. This bealtby and thrifty condition of our fruit market, aided by our horticultural seoletles, has given a new Impetus to the growing of fruit In the 'ast few years. Many new and large orchards, mainly apple, have been planted. More interest Is being taken in pear culture, which, we think, will continue to Increase, as we have , but little blight. Tbe fruit seila-at $1.60 to $3.00 a bushel, and trees seldom fall to bear a crop. More berry patches are being planted each year, and belter care Is given to the whole business than ever before. Quite a number now spray their orchards with arsenical preparations to destroy the codling moth. Uur orchards look much more healthy than tbey did two years ago. So on tbe wbole, tb« proa-
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SUMMER MEETING AT POPLAE BLUFF. 6ft
pecti for orchardlDg Id Northweat MisBouri begin to loom up la defiance of all obstacleB, and will compare favorably with tboRC of an^ other aectlon of our State or of the world, for aveiy section has ItB own pecnllar drawbacks.
And now, fellow- mem hers, permit me to Inquire of jou, what our prospects for orcbardlnx In Northwest Mlesonri and elBewbere would be, had we no dlflioul- tles to surmount, no enemies to conquer, Suppose we had no killing frosta, no failures, and all onr fruits were permitted to grow in great profusion and perfection, without intelligent selection, care and culture, what would be the result? From a commercial stand-point. It seems dear onr occupation would be gone. True, we might have our ^ults, but would we appreciate them as we do now ? I think not. We would doubtless soon realize the truth of the poet's thought, when he penned this sentence :
Thaj wbo aeiai tln> nev r real,
Aod Ibe; who OBVta bDngei, no fFMt onjoy.
Shall we forget that there la neither value nor excellence without labor, when applied to man's condition and surroundings in this life ? and may we not become atronger and better for being engaged in bonest, pleasant labor, and even grow brighter and happier beoBuse of the clouds and storms of adversUj that tweep down over us to purify our whole moral nature, and mabe us more social and useful among our fellow-men ? Then let us be thankful to the Great Giver of all good for every prospect that pleases, and recognise In the dark clouds of onr adversity the hand of Him who doeth all things well.
BEPOBT OF OOUMITTEB ON OBITUARIES.
Vour Committee on Ubltaarles have before them the names of two late mem- bers of this society who, since our last meeting, have been called ffom their labors among na to the quiet sleep and rest of the grave.
The first was a lady member, the companion and wife of our esteemed Mend and brother, Dr. Ooslin, of Oregon. Mo. We are not influenced in this case by cus- tom, which commends the virtues of the dead and praises all whe.i gone. In Justice to the memory of this "Elect lady," no praise is wanted f^om this committee by any who knew hei life ; but to others we may be allowed to speak of her life as full of intellectual Christian works, beautiful lu themselves, and In value to her assoolatea above price. The very light of her home, she was happiness itself to a good hus- band there. In the church of her choice she was a helpmate with the pious in doing good work. In our society of horticultural work she was sn Intelligent, ardent admirer of the beautiful, and often edified and cheered us with her finely written essays— a dellgbtflil work, in which she excelled. Her Christian life of faith whs beautirai— her death triumphant and peaceful.
ftODlccd. Thai Inlbe death of Mia, I>r, Goalln tbla aooiety loan a vilnBblf lady member, wtiiMe pnienoe la already aiicl nil! long bemlaaed In onrmeatUge.
Saatoid, We are Id gympathy irlth the doator beieaied, and all ber Meoda who maarn her
Since writing the altove resolntious,jiour committee have learned that in the same community and town Mrs. Judge O'Fallon has also been called to her reward. Our hearts are moved afresh, and what we have said of Mrs. Gosltn may be said of Mrs. O'Pallon, only she was young — had hope of a long and happy life. How almost crael Is Death, to spare not pven the young and happy, and to take from us so often the best, who are needed most I
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STA.TB HOBTIOULTDBAL SOCIBTT.
AgalD, at Nevada, oar friend aod fetlow-laborer. Hem? Bbeple^, a member of this MCletf, has also passed awajr. He was a faorticultarist and member of the VcTDoo ootint; sooletf, who ri>Bpected him In llfb as a worthy friend and brother, and mlse him now tbat he is gone, as evinced by th« expreeslona of the membership of his Booletf m resolatlons befltllog the occasion .
horn he his tatt and worked on oceailoni Ilka tbla, wUl mlM bim, in and rstthfol Mloir-woikor afoor aodetr .
BUKK,
Houuv.
BBPOBT OF COHHITTEB ON PINAL BBSOLUTIONS. We beg leave to report ;
1. Tbat the thanks of this Aasoalatlon are doe and ate hereby eratefaUj ten- dered to the varlons railroad oompanles of the State of Missouri fOr the exonraloD rat«a tendered to Its members; and In this cODnection would say our membership aboald be greatly Increased In order that fruits may be more abundant, and tbat the growers can obtain reasonable rates for the transportation of all bortlcullaral produots.
a. That the State Horticultural Society tenders Its most heartfelt thanks for the cordial welcome and cheerful disposition manifested by the citizens of Poplar Blnff In the entertalnmenl of Its members. The Society also expresses the hope that the citizens of Biiller county will after this take a deeper Interest In all branchea of horticulture, and thus utilise tbe blessings which Providence has so lavishly bestowed upon their rich soil and favored climate.
Year committee would also embrace thanks to the omcers of our State Hortl- onltaral Society for their discriminating and courteous conduct In furtberlng the Influence and usefulness of onr Association, and to sll those who have helped us In carrying out our programme. AJl of which la respectfully submitted.
Chas. W. Murtpblbt, Chairman. J. N. BARHKrr, H. J. Wbber,
Committee. Adopted.
FAULTS IN OECHAEDIHG.
TourofflceisiD making aprogram for this meeting, have assigned me a subject upon which tbey ask roe to prepare a paper, viz., "Faults In Oroliardlng."
And 1 sbsll comply with theirrequeatlnavery brief msuner — not that the sub- ject will not bear extended remarks, but rather for want of ability and lack of time. It Is an old and true saying thai tbere are many wrong ways of doing a tblng, and but one ilgbt way. Of nothing Is this more true than of orcharding. First cornea the selection of a site for tbe orchard. A fault bere is irreparable, ss ho after csre or culture can fully overcome It, How many dilapidated orchards do we find Id the west that, when looking for tbe cause, we find hard-pan as impenetrable as a jag wltliia a few Inches of the surface. To be a success, the roots of an apple tree must have a chance to penetrate to some depth In a porous sub soil.
SUSUCBB HEBTINQ AT POPLAR BLUFF. 61
Tbe next fault, taken in regular order, la In tbeselectioDof varletie*. Hoat pl&ntera, my self among the number, bave planted too manj varletUs, m&ny of them aoaaited to our climate, and while the; may have been flne apples in father's orehard, somewhere east and north of oar present location, they are wortbleaa with na. Consalt the reports of the Uiseouri State Borticultural society . See what they recommend; vlBit the oroharde In your own neighborhood; see what pays yonr neighbors and plant accordingly, mostly of a few standard varieties, and yon will avoid this mistake. The nest mUtake wblch is common Is in parchas- Ing the trees. Bow man; of ns have found when too late that we have paid some altck-toogued agent twice the price of good stock and got second rate or worse- Bay of responsible nurseries, and th^ nearer home the better, and avoid this mis- take. The next mistake I shall notice Is planting. When the tree is reoeived from the nursery In good condition, and no others should be received, do not expose it to drying winds or chuck It down In a mud'hole, but plant It In good soil, In proper condition for working. If not in condition when you receive your trees, heel them In well tin It Is; psck the soUflrmly around and over the roots and they will grow.
Now comes one of the most serious mistakes, because common ; lack of culti- vation. Few men are foolish enough to plant a field of corn and ezpecta crop with- out cultivation ; but how many are there who think a tree, when once planted, should take care of Itself, or they act as though they thought so, whether such la the case or not. If you would avoid this mistake, do not cease to cultivate wblle tbe orchard lasts. Histahes are frequently made In pruning, some too much, some too little, or not at all. The happy mean which gives a llae-afaaped tree, without Bears where great limbs have been removed which should never have been allowed to grow. Is what we should all strive to attain to ; this requires constant care and attention, which he who plants an orchard should be wilting to bestow.
One more mistake I wish to call attention to, and then I am done. That la, in handling the fruit. How many of our farmers handle their apples as though they were indestructible as com in the ear, to be thrown around with the scoop-shovel. When a grower has fine apples, and falls to handle them carefully, and properly assart them, he makes a mistake which destroys half and f^quently all the value of the product.
FRUIT-SHIPPING. C. T, MALUKcrBoi)T._
Finding mself down on program to say something on flrult- shipping, before proceeding, let me state that I have had bnt little experience on the subject; yet after being assigned a task, I consider it my duty to comply as far and as well as in my power.
For want of time I most be brief, and will only touch upon some of the princi- pal poiuts bearing on the matter, and humbly beg that you will forbear with my evident short- comings.
Success In shipping fruits has and will always depend upon what we have, how we pack, and unavailable shipping facilities; thus to be successful we must first of all things raise good, sound fruit. How to do this can and will be learned by tbe diligent attendant at. the deliberations of our society, as also by careful study of Its annual reports, but above all by close observation and constant waleb- fnlness. The days when a " go- happy -go-lucky " kind of person can produce even good, let alone the best and only paying crops of fruits, have forever gone. Only the wide-awake man can be a successfnl fruit-grower or shipper.
62 STATE HOETICDLTDBAL BOOIBTT.
Mncb of anccesB in shipping frolU depends upon the manner in wblch it is handled andpftohed. To begin, nie only neat and dean vessels, which sho-ildbflaa light as is consistent with safety in handling ; beads on burels, covers on baskets and tMxee should be welt secured, and above all things let them be of full size ; If quarts. If gtillone. If bushels if barrels, tbey^ should hold full pretended measure.
Another important point in this regard Is, and It has time snd again been urged, neverthelesB Is now and probably always will be In place, the grading and Aortlng fruits for shipment. Be the crops ever so flne, there will always be different sized and more or less colored or developed specimens. It has been my experience that careful sorting or cepsratlng sucti is the most profitable. But, even If both grades are Bent to market (separate, of course), the labor of sorting will be well repaid by the greater prices obtained for all than when unassorted.
Is It necespary to mention that all fruits should be carefully bandied during ftll manipulations while preparing It for shipment? I think not.
Transportation enters largely Into the balance of the shipper of frntts, and is on« of the problems concerning profitable horticulture. Unless we have good laollities and can have reasonable freight and expresB rates, there Is but little en- eonragement to fruit shipping, and the chaises for transportation often exeeed the proceeds of the product.
It Is gratifying to the lover of borttcultnre to note the saccess in recent years of the endeavors of our society to obviate this cause of obstruction by obtaining bettor facilities and lower freight rates from all fruit centers or places from where larger quantities of fruit are shipped. Let us hope that this good work may sttll proceed, and a still greater Impulse be given to the horticultural Interests of our noble State.
To be successful in shipping fruits, the following points must neoessarll^ be observed: Careful sorting, packing, handling, and bonest measure. If these are observed In all caeee, and with requisite transportation facilities, combined with ordinary Judgment as to the commercial partofonr transactions, snocees will be the rule, failure the exception.
Hcoo, HoNTOOMsny Coumtt, Uo., January 1. lYetideni and Members of the Misaouri Slait Boriieuliural Society .-
1 am glad and happy to Inform you that our local borttcoitural society Is in a healthy and promising condition. We have now eighteen membors. who all engage r::ore or less In planting fruit trees, and show much Interest In this most profitable and pleasurable enterprise .
We meet on every first Saturday of each month, and also once a week during the strawberry season.
:jlnce the organization of our society by Hr. Fred. Lionberger, I am happy to state that onr neighborhood has greatly profited since , I may say that we have profited more than any of us expected to.
At the time of our oiganlzation as a horticultural society, there were hardly one hundred fruit trees in my neighborhood. No one had seemed to have any Idea that it would ever pay to plant fruit trees or to enter Into that kind of work. But since Hr. Ijonlberger has helped ua and encouraged more tree planting among ua, the number has increased to at least six thousand trees, and the prospect is good to increase this number double In the next two years:
Four years ago there were scarcely any strawberries in this neighborhood, and now there are sevoral towns north and west of here which are supplied with all the strawberries they need from this neighborhood.
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SUMUBR MBBTIHG AT POPLA.B BLUPF. (13
The bortloultur&l societ}', M well u Mr. Llooberger, hu been the means ot doing mooh good Id this Ttclulty.
The membeiB of onr locat horttonltaral society are all Germane, snd our meet- ings are condnoted In the German language'. Yours truly.
Cbbkt. Hoosbk.
FROM HATT arKVBMS.
FoENBY, TBxiS, May 26, 1890.
By the kindness of your secretary, L. A. Goodman, I am In possession of the admirable program of yoar meeting, aod were it not that this Is my busiest time 1 would be with you. It being held so near me ibis time, I regret tbat I cumot come now to visit the once home of my adoption — the city and "home of the Starts" — and also the " Quaker city of my youth ; " for by the recoUectlon of those primitive days come onr first enjoyments, and the present is Its matured extension of pleasures, and not to meet yon now, after meeting many of yon In convention in California, and last In Texas, deprives me of my best enjoyments. I wish you ancoess and a happy meeting, with all the pleasures It affords.
In Texas we bave pnssed through the most trying winter of all that we have had In fifteen years. The O'St frosts and light freeze occurred the last of Novem- tier. December, January and most allof February wasexoeedingly warm. A few days In each of those months the thermometer rose to above 60 degrees of heat. Some peacbes, apples, pears and mulberries blossomed in each of those months, aet ftuit and were alt sixes up to a hen's egg when the last of February freeze atruclc them, the thermometer going down to 16 above zero and continuing quite onid for a week or two, thus killing or at least checking the growth of all trees, and there Is not one fruit tree that was not affected by the freeze. Mine is but a fair sample aa to what its efi'eots were here, and my orchard la thirteen years old.
The first varieties of pears to blossom were the Leconte, Keiffer and Oarber. Some few leaves were killed (tarned black) and the frult(8et) dropped to the ground one by one, chilled or dead, [cut the dead leavesalloff, and as a rule new leaves soon took tbelr places. The trees soon took a new, vlgorouii growth, and on this new fpowthof wood the blossom eame again, and has set a new crop. Now this Is the only pear on these varieties of trees. The freeze did not kill nor poison tbe new winter's growth of these trees. The European pear epeclee (Bartlett, Willlama, Duchess) and others not so far advanced, bad some leaves and blossoms killed bnt not much fruit ; It poisoned the sap so much that the limbs began to wither, dry and turn black, but by commencing soon to cut the ends off the affected limbs tbe disease Is stopped, and our rich, strong soils soon give new life and vigor to the tree and a rich color to the foliage of these pear trees. Tlpon the sandy loam soils these last trees are more affected than mine, which is on black, waxy soils. Hy Downing mulberry trees were In full leaf aod blossom, and tbey were billed dead to tbe ground, roots, aod all .
Of the Chinese strain of peaches, the Pentoo (flat peach) blossonied the first of December and continued to grow, and was killeil to the ground both root and branch ; tbe trees were thirteen years old and they had borne six good crops— no trees now.
The Honey, Thurber and Chinese Cling, and others of that strain, the trait was killed but not the trees. The Spanish (our Southern) strain of peaches are tbe least afiected by tbe freeze, and are now the only trees that have peaches on them. The Old Early, Haines' Early and Its later progeny, all are either dead or ready to die; four varieties of them died from theefleotsof the freeze both root and branch,
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61 STATE HOBTIOULTDBAL BOCIBTY.
while of seTeral otber TarietieB of the asme the llmhs h« mor« than half de&d, ■ome only having a live but) here and there on the trees; theae bad not yet awelled a single bit at the time of the flreeze ; cutting open a bud three weeks afterward, the J appeared alive and green, but bo fltmlj bonnd aod cemented waa Its covering that the bads died, most of them from strangnlation ; all of the earliest ripening peach trees are the worst affected of all ; at least one-halfof my peaoh trees I shall have to cut down tbU year.
Apricots, Nectarines and Almonds show about one-half as bad as peacbes, with bnt little fralt on them this year. Hy Hg trees on two years' growth wera killed back one year's growth, starting out at one year's growth again with a pro»> peot of at least one-half crop. About one-half of my ont-door orange trees «r« dead bom the Hveze ; the others dropped their leaves, bnt have since pat oat new ones again— they are of the dwarf species. Of Japan Persimmon trees some ar* dead, bnt the moat of them are alive and doing well. Uy olive trees all stand th« freeze well, and are doing well, 't'he Quava and the Pomegranate need mors pro - tectlon than I can afford to give It, so I discard them.
Plums of the Chtokasaw varieties are at home here, bnt the European speelea and their descendants are too tender and short-lived here; sometimes bear well, but drop oB too much. TheHloks, Uusslan and White (for shade), Is a soocese. Qnlnoea are only a partial success. Strawberries and blackberries are a success wherever tried. Apple trees stood the freeze well, bnt lost their ftult (the most of It) by the freeze. Its biggest enemy is the tree borer ; have raised apples for the last eigjit years, this year none. In grapes, my first trials here were failures of over thirty varieties, and In hut few were I sueeessfnl with them, and as fast as one variety- failed. Its space was given to something else ; this year we have hut a small crop of grapes, and man's un con troll able appetite and his Inhnmanlty to man and the tendency of tbe age to prohibit both the manufaotnre and sale of wine, and put Its users under a guardianship of doctors by law, without distinction as to abuse of natural rights, Is detrimental to the grape-growing industry, so that I am dlsconi- aged from planting more vines.
HOLT COUNTY HOBTIOULTDKAL BOOIETT.
BT W. R. LAOGHUH, SEORETART.
The Holt County Horticultural society reports Itself to he inreasonable health, In good spirits, and by somewhat of Industry doing a fair amount of good work for Itself and for the people.
Circumstances gave us several months daring last summer that we held no meetings, but when we came together again the Society found Itself stltl alive and as earnest as ever.
T^e season bad t>een one of abundant fralts, and though at times prices had been low, tbe heart of the horticulturist was encouraged and they talked with each other gladly. Since then our meetings have been nearly regular once a month.
The "Holt County Sentinel," the only paper now published at oar county seat, makes a specialty of aiding our good cause, and thereby increases the number of its subscribers, and earns the good will of the people.
Some of tbe papers read before our Society are printed In our local papers. These and others In manuscript are sent to tbe Secretary of our State society, to be dealt with as he sees fit, t<ome of them find their way Into the State report, and often we see quotations from them in the newspapers.
The good effects of the efforts of the State Society, the local societies, the agrl- cnltural and horticnltural papers to educate the people to a higher taste In planting
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8UMHBB UBBTINO AT POPI^B BLUFF. 65
fbi oTDsment, and to a better Jadgment In pleating ft>r money, are eaatlj' aeen all over this region. Year by year BhowaagalD In the nnmber of orchards belog plaoted, in the amoant of amall flruiU set for family nae and for market, and In the treei, ehmba and flowers to be seen placed aronnd the bomea of th» people. Not- withstanding the exiattng ftnaocial depression of all agrienltoral matters, more of DorMty staff was aoM in Holt oonnty thlB spring than ever before.
PBACH TKHS
Made a great growth last se&soD, bat went Into tbe winter too soft. The trees were not injured, bat the bloaaom bods were all killed by one cold plnoh. So no peaches this year- -hat they may come another year.
Tnn: AepLK cbup Was perhaps never In better shape at the same stage than now. The trees bad grown well last year, and a heavy load of bloom opened ont in good style. The weather was barely warm enough; Jnst enough moisture was in the air; there was no violent wind ; the breezes, the insects and the bees Joined Id the work of brlng- iog tbe well-matured pollen to the waiting flowera, and that item of the strangest, finest of nature's worklnga whereby Individ nala are developed and apeolea con- tinned, went well on. The apples for ISBO were started, and now, these first days of Jane, the little fellows are holding well to the twigs and growing in the best of ways. A slight Inn on the morning of the 14th, and one a little heavier on the Iflth, did some damage to farm crops in places ; but the tender embryos on the trees were not hurt, and again another t&ct was added to the evidence that there Is DO crop tb.it U raised snrer than the apple crop.
Ad unasual pinch of spring drouth has Just passed away from as. The small grain, the meadows and the pastures have l)een cut short for this by a heavy per cent, but the apples and the trees grew right on . In nurseries, or In orchards old or yoang, few things are so tittle liable to Injury by flood or by dronth as the apple tree and Ita fruit.
Is there a surer crop for profit than the apple? Is there, anywhere, a better [riace whereon to plant apple orchards as a business than In the loess deposit of the region within a circle 200 miles In diameter, and whoso center is tbe city of St. Joseph?
Sas awakened a new interest in its oaltlvatlon. Alt along for many years men have pUnt«d now and then a few pear trees. To be sare, blight has swept the vast majority ol all these ont of existence. Still an occasional tree has stood, someof them for thirty years or more, without being harmed, or perhaps only a little In- jured. Many of these have bad the habit of bearing, some of them fair crops of fine fruit. Hen have compared facts as to pear trees and their irult, and the inter- est bas been slowly growing for a few years. Last fall at tbe IJew Era exposition, at St. Joseph, the showing ot pears was so extensive and so fine as to attract the particular attention of fruit men from all over the Union.
This spring at one of our county society meetings, Hr. Q. T. Lnckhardt, of our county seat, gave, In a paper, the results of more than thirty years of exten- sive, intelligent and careful experimenting wilb a large number of varieties. The trees of a few of bis varieties are as yet uninjured, and have borne, on the average.
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66 BTATB nOBTIOUIiTUBAI. 80CIETT.
good timpt. The peu- grown on tblB aoU la In color and In flavor &a aapeiior u Is the apple. Far more pear trees were planted tbia sprtog than ever before, and unless there shall oome some backset, the Interest la but begun.
Bore well last jear. The problem In plum raising la mainly aa to Impregnation — what varieties shall be planted near each other. The carcuUo and the gonger can be managed .
KASPBERUES
Cntaomeqneercapersslnce Jsnaary 1. Tlie bashes last fall appeared to be Id good condition, the winter was a mild one, and jet some varieties are now well nigh wiped ont, while few It anjr we notupalred.
BLlCEBERBnCa.
The condition Is stated bj saying that they are all rigbt.
On towgronnd were Injured bj the froats of Hay Hand 16. On high ground, where they were slightly covered last winter, and the covering was ased as a mulch this ■prlDg. the berries ore of good size and thecrop Is heavy. Where not so treated the berries are small and the crop qnlte light.
Moral— If properly treated, the strawberry can be raised Buccesafully almost without regard to the season.
TSB NEW KRl sxposinoN At St. Joseph last Fall, among Its attractions, called together for exhibition a sum total of about 3,000 plates of fruit. In one of Its buildings was the exhibit trota Andrew county, made by its citizens and in charge of Ur. HeOonlgle and Id. Wil- liams; also the exhibit from Holt oounty, made by Mr. N. F. Murray. Only & narrow aisle was between these two exhibits. All the cultivated ftnita of both counties were to be seen there. Being In the employ of the Exposition during every day of Its ezlstenoe, my dnty brought me, more than any other man on the grounds, In contaot with the visitors, particularly with the more intelligent of them. I talked with more or less of people from 33 of the states, and from every territory but Alaska. Last year was not the best season for producing frnlts of the largest size, of the finest color, nor yet of the highest flavor ; but that exhibit ex- cited the wonder, the surprise and the admiration of the visitors from every one or these states and territories. Few of them claimed that their states could or ever had made any better showing than was there msde by these two counties.
Massachusetts men gszednpon the Seckel and said, "It Isone third larger than we have In our State."
New York and Ohio men, and the men from Michigan, saw our Bartlett and Duchess and ssid, " We csn't beat them at home."
California men said, " Oh, we raise bigger pears," but would admit tbat the Missouri pears equaled those of California for flavor, and had more and liner color.
Michigan men only claimed that some varieties of apples grew larger or bet- ter than la Missouri.
THE YEAR 1893
la coming. For that year Chicago will be the gathering-place of the peoples of the whole earth— the place where every nation, every tribe will meet to show, to see
u Cookie
SUMMER MBBTINQ A.T POPLAB BLUFF. 67
and to kiTD. Let ub bope tliat do evil 01^7 oome apon ourorobftrda ; that that leaBon wtU be laeh an one as to give Into our hands aa flne apeolmeni aa HUioarl has ever prodoMd ; that onr Legtalature and coaoty courts will aid qb ; that all over the iUte earnest men and women will aaalat with zeal, and with energy, eo that at the githtrlng-plaoe of the atatea of our own nation, and of the nations of the earth, the HlMonri State Bortlcaltnral Society Rball be able to make a more extensive, a finer andabettershowof the Ik^Us of the Temperate zone Ihan baa everyet been made upoD the Planet.
RBPOBT FROM BUTLBB OOUNTT.
Trath Is mighty and will prevail. Bmanatli^ ai It does from the throne of Almighty power, It ii an omnipotent foil before wbloh error will alwayi fall.
Bntler connty la a broad subject, and happily Isjnst nowbe^nnlngto brlghteh iFith the hnrnlehed tmth of her ftnitfo] fields of productive soil. Bnt mach the more u the bonndless exaggeration of Its deadly miasm which diffused with the winds ol heaven the seeds of every malady which has a name In our langnage, I g dispelled with the published tmth of the comparative htalthfulness of the climate.
Butler has become Innocently famed In other parts of the State as the abode of «rery BDiphlbloaa animal and deadly reptile, ai well ae the favorite home of unapar- isg pestilence.
Butler county. In respect of the native wealth of Its soil. Is scarcely surpassed In Slisonrl, and as to the value of the Inoumbent timber, etanda unrivaled through- out our great commonwealth. Of our Balubrlons climate, It will eafflce to say that , in general healthfulneas It Is not excelled by any of the more favored oonntlea of tbe higher latltudei In the State.
Butler county, In short, may be described, as every other county In the Stat« with very few exceptions, as good, bad and Indifferent.
But the stranger, passing over our territory with only a profile perapectlve, -can get but a false ImpresrloQ, which a general view alone may correct.
We have bere elevated plateaae of gently undulating table-land, which unfold naay charms to tbe enraptured vision of the practical farmer or ranchman.
It Is not In profile, bnt a perlsoopic view, our county must be seen to be fully anpreclated . It has Its rough side, but the law of compensations, which never falls lo the distrlbutlan of the beoeflts of nature, covers It with a oharmlng verdure, which entiors to tbe absolute abandon which always prevails where the provision for the aopport of animal life Is wlthont limit.
This rough Bide, as it is presented Itom the plastic hand of nature. Is suggest- ive of the Irresistible Internal fbroes which In periods of volcanic upheaval have lifted to the aurface not only acres bnt miles of stone. This feature, without lo- vettlgatloD, would condemn all this portion of our territory to the hopeless condi- tion of an absolute desert waste. Bnt what a mistake. The closest rook-ribbed lill] there la In all this bonndary, In the lofty forest of sturdy oak, together with tbe almost unbroken carpet of luxuriant grass, consisting not only of nutritious grsia, but a profose growth of provlne In all the nntamed varieties, forever forbid tbe eonctnaion of a sterile waste. In the midst of our best cultivated districts In tbe most advanced counties there Is no other comparison but the cultured clover field.
Bnt to show up the country In terms of easy comprehension, we woald bead tbe procession In the march of progress in our great State with Saline county Id the van Id tbe bonorable avocation of agriculture. Accepting her annual prodacta
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'Vil>
6S 8TATB HOETIODLTDBAL SOCIBTT.
per acre aetbe standard of compkrison, Charlton, Carroll and Platte stand aeoond in th« rank in their claim of the lanrel wreath.
But Butler countf , in gome of Its parts, wltb similar features of sur&ce soll^ vllh a dlitlDctivd forest growth of timber as contrasted with the dwarfed growtb of Platte, produces with slngnlnr unlformlt)' Any bnafaels or oorn and one and a. half to two tons per acre of tlmothjoT herd grass.
In testimony will Introduoe one man's experience through a. period of oighteen- yesrs. He la not of the questionable sort as to Terselty.
Fifty measured buahels of com was his ordinary crop— never less, but often overrannlDg that measure. We will keep the same witneos on the stand as to the- hay Bold last year from t«n measured acres of grass. At f 16 per ton he netted the . not nndeslrable sum of X310 on the crop.
Sastatned wltb necessary energy, tbe Intelligent tillage of the soil wonld proT» invariably profitable here to every man engaged In this bonorable calling.
As we do not wlsb to be tedious, we will vary tbe aspect of the subject hy considering briefly the adaptation of tbe county to the valuable grasses. Here- la the stocknaD's home par excellence. Run an extended line of comparison from the extreme northwest of Washington Territory, dropping down to the lower lati- tudes In a southeasterly direction through Oregon, Idaho, Dakota and Wyoming t& Colorado, not forgetting to pay our passing compliment to Nebraska and Kansas, we will Journey on through the Indian Territory into northwest Texas, where tha- ranohman holds undisputed sway.
Right here In Butler we And everything thrown together with a rtcb pro- flislon nowhere else to be met with from nature's bountiful hand — every material element conducive to the wealth of the stockman: a beneficent elimate, pure water beyond exhaustion from hill and valley, and a great variety of nutritloua grasses, supplemented by uncoanted toothsome plants, rich In nitrogenous and carbonaceous properties nnlted liberally wltb the phosphate of lime to Induce thft rapid production of bone and maecle and the steady accumulation of fht.
As to the question of the variety or our native grasses. It is not necessary to- Invite the attention of such as have had practical experience of their value.
Prom the northwest all the way down south to the westward of the lOOtb meridian there is no other grass of special merit bnt tbe buffalo grass, Eastward of that meridian, la Nebraska and Kansas, tbe list soon begins to increase in variety. From that latitude south we are greeted with the more valuable of the prairie grasses, iDclndlngtne far-famed blue-stem, or broad-blade, the liest fattening grass- there Is— the greatest boon given to man where nature has so lavishly scattered' her treasures of wealth.
Bnt after BO swift and extended flight upon the wlogsof thought, occupying bnt a few minutes of time, accomplishing hundreds of miles In distance, we will fold her pinions and settle down at home to contemplate tbe prospect around us.
Butler county has more miles of nnfenced grass, a greater variety and better grass. In more luxuriant growth, than any other county in tbe >itate. Besides that, this wide expanse of unkempt pasture land is subdivided by the season Into summer and winter range.
After tbe sun's return to this part of the world from his k<ng annual Jonmey acroee the middle line, and with the warm beams of his smiling face loosens the ley bonds of winter, wooing vegetation back to life and laxurlsnce again, the forest soon takes on full leaf and covers with its arborescent shadows the face of the enrtbv which Invites not In vain to its balmy protection against tlie fierce rays of the noon- day sun after the summer solstice comes. After these life-giving iufluences are
Dgnzs:;!-.; \_jV_IV_)V|1^
BOMMBB MBBTIRG AT POPLAE BLUFF. TO
raponded tn t& a fail growth of gru>, and the many plants which delight la the mnntflceDt eoU of this pnrt of tbe earth, eattle and sheep find here lodeed a moat IbllcltouB home.
Ah to the Damber of valuable grasaea here to be found, no one but a thoroasb botanist can answer. In Kansas it Is claimed they connt one hundred and more ■dIOierent Taiietles. Ho doubt, Incladlng with our tmmerouB kinds all the nutrltloua plantn which our sheep and cattle tlnd profitable, the list may be Indefinitely -extended. All the teeming millions of wealth now going to waste may In time be stillzed and oarrted to market in the earcass of tbe fat bnllock and mutton.
This rich pafitnie la to be bad here all the year round, by shifting to the low Xroond during the winter, without the loss or the knowledge Of an? of the condi- tions previoasl}' enamerated— grass, water or shelter.
The Immense advantage of distance afforded by our proximity to market over -other points more remote, is in Itself worth millions to this part of the conntry.
I shall not In this place apeak of syndicates in conneotlon with the demand <6r beef In tbe great markets of the Statea, farther than to remark, there Is an im- preaslon In some qaartera of a tendency to dliintegratlon. This tendeooj may ■contribute materially to the promotion of tbe growth of the best breeds for the bntoher'H block, in conjunotlon with the aystem of mixed hnsbandry now generally prevalent In the land.
Finally, there is no tenable reason known why our capital town, with a Uttle -effort at asmalloutlayof money, may not become the nucleus otan extensive cream- ery. Here an adopted h<»ne tor all the best milk breeds can be had at less cost than ■anywhere elae lo alt tbe broad expanse of the States, with every comfort In ahand- ance to create the very elyslnm of animal life.
If the Almighty Creator of man, his constant benefactor and best friend, has -ever contemplated the provision on the part of man of an earthly paradise fbr tbe ■cow and her progeny, it can be obtained hero.
BEPOBT ON THE LARDB OF BUTLEB OOIJNTT. Ml. Chairman :— The eabject now presented la new In onr ooneideratlon, hut Its novelty does not withhold anything from Its valae. Tbe extent of our forests of poat-oak or of our ao-catled crawfish land In the valteys which form so large a feature la the surface appearance of the coanty. Is not definitely known ; but the amoont of either doea not partluularly concern as now, but tbe productive quality lathe subject of special consideration at present. In the bill land of the county, poat-oak, in laiger or smaller foresta, witnesses tbe existence of a peculiar soil In nearly every measured section. Perhaps In tbe more elevated plateau It Is there predominant, as to the soil It Is In heavier or lighter strata, but always Intense^ active In Its powerof prodaetlveneas. As a consequence, under severe tillage from year to year. It might the more readily eshauet or fall Into a non-productive state; but here, as In tbe general management of farm operations, tbe wakeful skill of the farmer is called to the rescue. At this point oar further discussion of tbe subject should be prefaced with the Inquiry as to its peculiar adaptation. It does not lie In the circumference of the cereala, but In that of tbe valuable grasses— not of the meadow varieties, but such as enter into the active support of pastoral life, yield- ing always up to Its full capacity In qnantity and of unequal quality; with Its ready Assimilation of all arlmal and vegetable fertilizers, as the borne of cattle and sheep At large ; it* susceptibility of an Increased productiveness Is unaurpasaed and without end. Here and there. In my limited knowledge of the country, are some vide dUtrlota of this particular timber always grown (torn a alngnlarly chataeter-
70 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL 800IBTT.
ized soil In that, th&t lt« native graeies of whatever vartetf are of the flnent text- ore and replete with inch natrltlve power as la rapidly and profitably appropriated to the foil lo laying on of lleeh, the Hweeteet and most Bavory of Hb kind, whether beef or matton found In the shamblea of our city market. In these particular localities could be founded the floeat sheep walks, greeted by the cheering em lies of Heaven's bright bud, rewarded with the highest poealble profit obtained from that honorable pursuit. So used, old Father Time himself will not live beyond the end of the Increased fertility of that olass of onr soil.
But of oar crawfish land, let us submit and reflect some facts pertaining to its- ewentlalnatare, consisting as It does of calcareous lime, blended aparaelywlth Band, but liberally with vegetable and animal matter In every stage of decay. It Is- productive beyond the ken of the inexperienced former, of all tbe valuable graina- and grasses suceessfully grown In onr latitude. Like that of the post-oak the soil has not an nnltmlt«d adaptation ; bnt In the production of corn Is only second to- our best dry loam of tbe valleys, and in tbe growth of valuable meadow grass^ herdsgrass and timothy Is without a rival. In the production of these two most valuable grasset, transported In a dry state to meet the demand of the city mar- ket, this soil is without a peer In the whole realm of nature.
The world's laboratory, of which lli{ht, air and water are ever sleepless agents,, constantly active In replacing the constltaents withdrawn from the soil In support of the husbandman's crops — to himself and tbe world the everlasting source or both food and raiment. Nature has not In any quarter of the earth boon ao lavlsb in tbe creation of soil as to place It beyond the reach of exhaustion, not even la tbe world wide ftmed valley of the Nile, for the soil there In each returning year Ib- repaid for last year's loss by the heavy soil drift which oomes down wiib the &»• Dual overflow of the river Nile from the mountains of Nnbla and Abyslnia. Bat- the universal law of oompenaatlon ts always In full force. Our crawfish land Is not an exception to its benlflcent operations. The air we breathe by Its aution or evolving gaseous vapors from theanlmal and vegetable debris In the soil reacting od tbe lime contained will keep up for a period but not fbrever Its active capabilities. Henoethe demand, to counteract theexhauEtion, of the liberal supply of fertiliz- ing agents In the form of carbonates, phosphates and nitrates to liberate the latent; elements contained in the earth, to bring them Into an active and available state for the continued and possibly the Increased growth of valuable vegetable prodnotlon.
From the views here presented it would seem almost unnecessary to lepeat iik precise terms that the soil now under consideration is not prolific in valuable pro- duction until after acknowledging the reactionary force of such llfe-glvlng princi- ples as convert Its dormant properties Into a productive plant-bed. It will so con- tinue during a period of exposure to their vitalizing Influence. But later on, wheit signs of partial exhaustion are made manifest. It can be successfully renewed by tbe- provident Intervention of man, with the full assurance that love's labor is not loat« bnt that he shall receive in full measure the merited reward of his labor.
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MISCELLANEOUS PAPERS.
80»E OP OtTE ItrSECr FRIENDS AND THE WATS IN WHICH THEY BEFRIEND US.
[Aneaurrekdit thaawtaHorUDQltanlBoclatr'iUeatlDg.l
UtKY B. HUKTFKUIT.
The hsman hubit of regardiug all classes of tlie lower aoiiiials from a narrovl; sabjective point of view, leads not only to great iojostioe to beings iu vhicli ve can trace the mdimenta of nearly all onr most boasted attribates, bat leads also to a misconception of tbe parpoaea of an all-vise and benefloeot Creator. Bo complicated and inter-de- pendent are the relations of all organic beings, that for as to pronoance any creature an anmitigated evil, is the height of presainptiTe iKQor- ance. TSo matter how much we may gnffer in onr relations with some of these animals, nor how malignant and useless they may seem to ns, ve may be snre, not only that they are necessary links in tbe ohain of being, but that it is within tbe limits of the hnmau mind, some day, to discover their place and importance. In regard to the insect world this is especially tme. Very little attention, comparatively, has been given to the subject of the benefits which we, directly or indirectly, derive from them, while we are constant]} reminded of the personal injuries tbey do as and the losses they occasion ns.
It seems only fair that we should occasionally take the other side and endeavor to recognize our insect ftiends. That these are far more DumerouB than people generally are aware, and that they are more potent for good than we can easily believe, it will be the aim of these notes, in some measure, to show. Nor do I here intend to expatiate apon those conspicuously beneflcial species to which we are indebted for the most exquisite of our textile &bricB, the most Inscioas of oar sweets, the most brilliant of onr dyes, and tbe most burning of oar blisters. It is tme, I might enlarge even this list considerably, were I to include all the insects that contribute to foods, medicine and the arts, bat I will limit my references to the less plainly evident ways in which other members of this class serve oar interests.
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_)'
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74 STATK HOBTIOULTCBAI. 8O0IBTT.
As ODB phaae of Uieir DBefalneaa, ve mnet remember that in & general w&y insects are basy from morning till night, and f^m night till morning, fertilizing and cross-fertilizing onr grains and froits, by carrying the pollen from the anthers of one plant to the stigmas of another of the same kind, thns iosnring vigor to the germ and per* fectioD to the frait. Indeed, naturalists have discovered, within the last quarter of a centary, so great a measure of mntnal dependence be- tween plants and insects, that eboald the entire class of the latter be exterminated the whole &ioe of natare woald speedily be changed. Many of onr most valuable vegetable products would disappear, and a reversion to the undeveloped, though gigantic plant forms of the car- boniferous age would be manifested, and with the disappearance of bread grains and sncculent fmits, man and the higher animals would probably perish.
Among the most interesting of recent botanical discoveriee Ib the absolute dependence of that singular and lovely class of plants — the Orchids — upon the good offices of insects to enable them to produce seed. And nothing in nature is more wonderful than the contrivances of delicate tissues, forms and colors by which self-fertilization is ren- dered impossible, while at the same time the attractions for insects are 60 conspicuone and so irresistible, and the mechanical contrivances so ingenious by which their visits are utilized, that in their native habitat, ot where they have become thoroughly nataralized, the orchids sel- dom tail to perfect an abundance of seed.
It is true that these and other ornamental plants are not, in them- selves, among the necessaries of life. Bnt they are every year in in- creasing demand as a luxury of the rich, and it will be seen that when the importer of a novelty, or its first propagator, receives hundreds, even thoneande of dollars for a single plant, that these per se uaeless cariosities may be converted into much bread and batter and fine raiment, and are, therefore, not to be scorned by even the strictest otili- tarian. Bat to enlarge upon what has already been referred to, it is not only in the case of these exotics or rare native plants that insect agency, in the matter of distiibnting pollen, is of importance to as. Our or- chards, oar vineyards, onr berry beds, are all more productive for the swarms of bees, flies, beetles and butterflies that flit from one fragrant flower cluster to another, collecting and scattering the fmctiiying germs and taking toll of pearly nectar and golden pollen as a marriage fee. The crimson clover flelda, glowing like sunset clouds upon oar rolling pnu- ries, loading the summer breezes with sweetest incense, would be ban- ished from our landscapes with the extermination of sncb common insects as the humble-bees; and in the nectar glands of the nameroas
MISCBLLAHKOUS PAPERS. 75-
other important plaots wMcb possess them, we recognize a bid for tl)& asBiBtance of inseols, vithonb which perfectioB and perpetuation woold be impossible.
But this is only one of many phases of onr indebtedness to that olasB of animals, nsnally spoken of in contemptoous generalization as bugt. Another, which shonld not be entirely overlooked, is that they ate the chief food supply of the great majority of birds and food fishes. Neither ehonld their offlceas land and water scavengers be andervalaed^ and we can scarcely realize the aid they afford in the rednotion of decay- ing animal and vegetable substances to their original innoxious ele- ments.
It is, however, to those species, which by their cannibalistic and parasitic habits assist so immeasnrably in keeping in check other species, which in their anperabnudance are undeniably injatioDS to ws^ that I desire more particularly to call attention, and to emphasize thfr importance of a safflcient knowledge of their forms to enable as to distinguish oar friends &om oar foes. How often have I had brought to me aa a culprit, charged with committing the most extensive depre- dations, the larva of lace-wing fly, or lady-bird beetle, that was render- ing the most important service possible, by devouring the myriads of tiny aphids or scale insects that were sapping the life of the plant. I know it is not possible for all agricaltarists to be so well acquainted with inaeot forms that they can in all cases distingoish a destructive from a beneficial species. Bat it would not be a very severe tax on the memory and observation to make one's self fitmiliar with about a- dozen of the most prominent and valuable. The trouble is that we must be able to recognize eaoh species uuder two or three forms. The handsome, though very malodorous, lace-wing flies, for instance,, are easily recognized and respected, but because their larvae are fierce- looking alligator-shaped grabs, they are more likely than not to be ex- ecuted by Lynch law process and have their trial afterward. It may almost be set down asarnle that the ugliest and most ferocious looking^ of insect larvee are the ones in all cases to preserve. And it may also be said that the grace and beaaty of the perfect insect is, with many species, in exact ratio to the fierce ungainliness of their immature forms. This is especially true of the cannibal beetles, which are dis- tingaished by a peculiar elegance of form and motion, and usually exhibit brilliant metallic colors, while their young, which burrow in the earth, are many of them really hideoos. The tiger beetles, which th& most inattentive observer can scarcely have foiled to notice along oar roadways and garden paths in the spring, running with the most extreme lightness and agility and riaiug readily on the wing wheu
"76 STATB HORTIOULTUEAL BOOIETY.
frightened, are great hunters, while their larva, vbich reat at the bot- tom of a perpeDdicalar hole in the in'onud five or six laches deep, and «f the diameter of an ordioary lead pencil, are gennine trappers, climb- ing to the top of their borrovs and opening their jaws to take in any DQirar; insect that may stray into them, and bandreds of bags, aotB, flies und worms are required to nonriah a aingle tiger beetle larva to the atage of naatnrity. The larger ground beetles alao hnut on the florface of the earth, while their larvse follow the same practice beneath, barrowing in all directions in search of cnrcnlio and other larrs that «nter the ground to transform. The preying mantis or devil's horse {Mantis CarolinaJ is another very valnable, though uncanny looking insect. Its presence shonld always be encouraged in orchard and vine- yard, and its singular egg masses, which bo much resemble what geolo- ^sts call a "trilobite," ahonld by no means be destroyed. While it is no respecter of species, bene&cial or injarious, it devours far more of the latter than of the former. The short-winged females, which are incapable of flight, are especially ferocioaa, and the ultimate &te of many of the longer winged bnt less robttst males is to forniah their con- jugal partners with a dinner.
Among the species of cannibal beetles which merit our highest regard are the so-called lady-birda fCoccinellidaeJ, The pretty beetles themselves are among the few insectB that enjoy a meaaare of popular favor — no one seeming to regard them with aversion. Children play with them, and the superstitious divine certidn coming events by their movements. We have native to this coantry fifty or sixty species, bat not more than twelve or fifteen of this number are abundant and widely ■distribated. There are also a few notable imported species to which I will refer later. They are all of small size, the largest not exceeding one-third of an inch in length. The form is rounded, oval or bemi- ■epherical, and in coloring, varioua shades of red, with black dota, pre- vail. The larvs are elongate, dark colored, often spiny grabs, -with six long, sprangly legs, and present a rather repolsive appearance. When ready to change they attach themselves by the tail and either push the larvEe skin backward or split it open on top, bat remain within it until the beetle is ready to appear. The especial fonction in nature which theae insectB were apparently designed to fnlfll, !a to keep in check the myriads of plant lice and bark lice that multiply, at sncb an incredible rate that no human agency is safflcient to cope with them. Indeed, against such species aa the grain plant louse f8iph<mophora Aphia arencej these lady-birds and other predaceona and eanoibalistio «pecies are our only hope of deliverance. It is manifestly impractica- ble to apray our extenaive fields with tobacco infusions or keroaeue
MISOBLLANBOUS FAFEBS 77
emnlsioDs, or to dual them with povdeis, bnt simnltaoeoasly with the appearance of the aphids come several speoiea of these beetles, two or three lace-wing flies and sjrphas flies, and a large namber of bigr and little parasitic species, and while the plant lice extract the eap of the plants with their innameiable littJe beaks, the larger iusecta seise them in their jaws and drain them of their vital flaids or panctnre their plnmp bodies to la; their eggs, which hatch iuto tiny grabs withia tbe bodies of their victims, and within a few honrs destroy their appe- tites for plant nectar, and soon convert tbem iuto a mere hooae and larder for the gnawing worms within. All these predaceons species- develop with great rapidity, and soon so rednce the ranks of the veg- etable feeders that the grain crop is rescned from destrnction.
Among the lady-birds that have earned great distinction by clear- ingtxeesof bark lice, is an Aastraljan species recently imported iotothis- coantiy, at the cost of mach labor and expense, bnt which has already^ made ample compensation. As its Introdaction and its beneficent work is one of tbe most notable of recent entomological events, and illnstratea the value of painstaking research in tracing oat the native home and habits of a species, I beg permission to give here a little re- sume of its history. It is well known that the orange and lemon-grow- ing indaatryof California is one of its chief horticaltoral interests. For a few years after its inangnration the citms orchards prospered and planters increased in numbers and wealth. But abont teu years- ago the trees began to decay, crops diminished and many of the larg- est growers became discouraged. The United States entomolo^t was summoned and found that the anthriftiness of the trees was mainly dne to the presence in prodigions numbers of two or three species of bark- lice or scale insects, the most destrnctive of which was the cottony CDsbion scale or flated scale (Icerya pruchasi Maakell). The next step was to devise a remedy which should kill the scale withont injary to the tree, and vrithout an expense that woald too greatly deduct from the value of the crop. Several gaseons and liqnid preparations were used with measurable success, but the impossibility of secnring a con- cert of action in fighting the pest prevented its general extermination, and orange- growing on the Pacific coast was threatened with failure. Prof. Biley, who has long been at the head of tbe Division of Ento- mology in the Department of Agricnlture, gave this matter mnch seri- ous consideration and established two agents in California to sapervise and devise experiments on the coccid. With his nsual thoroughness he traced the introduction of the pest to its importation a few years before on some Anstralian acacias, and found that it had been con~ veyed in the same, or in a similar way, to South Africa and to Ifev
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IS STATE HOBTICULTUBAI. 80CIETT.
Zealand, vhere it had also proved very destraetive. By means of per- «evering correspoDdence be learned that ia its native home, Aastralia, it did comparatively little damage, and that no artificial measares had ever been found necesBaty to prevent its increase. From this fact h« made the deduction that it was kept in check by natural enemies, and aB soon as possible made arrangements for sending tvo competent entctmologiats to that antipodal coaDtry,to ascertain what these natoral enemien were, and, if possible, to send and bring a enpply to this conn- try. This mission, undertaken by Prof. Webster, of Indiana, and Mr. Albert Ktebele, of California, was after much arduons search and carefol -observation, entirely saccessfol. A large namber of predaceous and parasitic insects were eafely landed in California, and committed to the care of Mr. Coqnillett, in the aatomn and winter of '88-'8d. Tbey were placed on trees covered with the scale, which were inclosed nnder tight muslin tents. Among these species one lady-bird beetle soon became conBpicnoQS by its rapid increase, and by the thoronghness with wliich it cleared the scale from the trees. This was a small, black and red form, which had received the ecientifio name of Vedalia cardinality which soon came to be regarded as the chief hope of the orange grower. Under Mr. Coqailletf s management, nnmbers of orchards were soon -cleared of the Bcale,and tbonBauds of beetles had been bred and were ready for diBtribntion in other parts of the State. By midsummer of last year many distributing stations were established, and by both public and private means the precious beetles were disseminated throQghoQt the orange-growing region.
Prof, W. A. Henry, a special agent sent by the Secretary of Agri- -culture to examine into the condition of agricuUare in the Pacific States, thus reports a visit to one of these Vedalia diBtribnting stations :
In Btndjlng tlile Ineect we first vielted the pUce of Hr. William Nllee, of Los Angeles, where the "Judy-bug" {Vedalia eardinalU) was being propagated b7 the oonnty insect ooumieelon for dtssemlnttlon amoDg the orange groves inrested with the cottony cushion or white scale. We found Ave orange trees staoding about eighteen feet high Inclosed by walls of cheap muslin, supported by light framework of wood. The orange trees inside this canvashsd been origlnallyoovered with the white scale, but fheVedalia, both larvee and adults, were rapidly consuming the last of the pests. Entering one of these canvas honees, we found the Vrdalia busilj at work, and bero and there on the canvas were the beetles endeavoring to escape to other trees. These iDSectarles were In charge of Ui. Klrcbeval, one of the county Insect commissioners, who kept a record of the distribution of the beetle. It was indeed a most intereBtlng eight to see the people come, singly and In groups, with pill boxes, spool boxes or some sort of receptacle In which to place tne Vtdnluit. On application tbey were allowed within the Insectaries, and each was permitted to help himself to the beetles, which were carried Away to be placed on infested trees and vines at their homes. Mr. Elrcheval kept a record of the parties and the number of beetles carried off. The number coming for the Vtdalia was surpris- ingly large— scores in a day— and each secured St least a few of the helnfiil beetles.
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HIB08IXA.KBOUS PAPERS. 79
That the sapply shoald hold out under Buoh a draio was remark- able, and epeaks better than vords the rapidit; with which the Vedalia mnltiplies, when there are ecale insects enough to nurture its young. *' This miracle in Entomology," as it has been enthusiastically termed, bas restored to vigor hundreds of orchards which had become nuproflt- able and had been neglected to tke verge of extinction. The wonder- ful success of this discovery, and the investigations and deductive ability that led to it, isjustlycoosideredoneof the most signal triumphs of entomological science, and has added new laster to the world-witle fame of Prof. Biley and his talented and inde&tigable asaistante. Would that we conld find some insect that would as happily serve os . in the case of the codling moth and the plnm corcnliol
Having given so much time to the consideration of this one dis- tinguished " friend " of the fruit-grower, I shqJl have to limit my refer- «DCeB to the remaining classes of beneficial insects to the briefest pos- sible introd action. The parasitic species are, with very rare exceptions, «ither two-winged or four-winged flies. They lay their eggs on the anrface of the body of their victim, glueing them fiist until the grab shall hatch, or by means of varions ingeniously- shaped ovipositors, they panctnre the skin and leave their eggs in the fatty tissoe beneath. The :gmbs, upon batching, feed all around nudcmeath t^e skin of the poor caterpillar or worm, and do not penetrate to the vital parts until they ' are grown, and have no further ase for their host, except as a shelter while they are in the pupa state. They then devour the remaining organs and spin their cocoons sometimes within, sometimes upon the sarface of the infested lai-vie. An example of the latter that wilt be &miliar to most of you is the small parasite of the tomoto worm, which «ften covers the surface of the still living larva with little white cocoons standing on end, which have very much the appearance of grains of rice. In cases of the larger parasites like Ophion and its allies, but a single one infests a larva and these generally transform inside the body of their victim.
I most not omit to mention that the tree crickets, which have so long been classed with injurious species because of the punctures they make in grape vines and raspberry canes, in the process of oviposition, are, according to my own observation, far more beneficial than perni- cions. This is especially the case with the broad-winged species {(Ecanthvs Latipennig). Having carefully reared it for two sncceHsive years in a rearing cage, I am prepared to class it as one of the most efficient aids that we have in reducing (he numbers of the plant lice and other small insects that attack our fruit trees, vineyards and berry
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80 8TATB HOBTICULTUBAI. SOOIBTY.
patches. And if it does occaaioDally kill a tvig in preparing a safe nidnB for its ej^s, it certaialy makes ample compeDsatiOD,
In conclasiOD, I will say, that while entomologists have long teal* ized the valae of predaceoas and parasitic species, but few attempt* hare been made to increase the numbers of the latter or to introdnoe them from one coontry or region to another.
The European parasites of the cabbage butterfly have been im- ported into some sections of the Eastern States, and are doing good service in the market gardens near some of our large cities.
Another scheme of this kind that was recently proposed was the iutiflcial propagation of dragon flies, with a view to their iotrodnction in greater nambers in the lakes and ponds in which moaqnitoes and other stinging gnats breed in such swarms. Very considerable prizes have been ofiFered for the best essays on this subject, and 1 believe the committee to which they were referred are at present considering their merits and the practicability of the suggestions offered.
The equalization of the forces of nature would keep every species within its legitimate bounds, and as man affords nnnatoral facilities for the increase of vegetable feeding species, by covering such vast areas witli certain kinds of grains and &nits, it would be but reasonable for him to devote some attention to the recognition and protection of their natural enemies.
" When Orc^k meets Oreeb, then comes the tag of war," and when the armies of cannibal insect, meet the armies of the vegetable feeders in anything like an adequate proportion, we shall be able to close ap our Parts gieen and London purple fitctories, and convert our spraying machines into improved water appliances and leave oar fields and orchards to their natural protectors.
Kirkwood, Mo.
GENERAL OBSBEVATIOKS. fiefort of HtBS H. £. Hurtfeldt, Etrkwood. Ho.
Early vegetables, strawberries and other herbaceoas plants suf- fered considerably from the attacks of cut worms, among which the larvae of Agrotis saucid, A. iubgotkica and A . telifera were conspicuous. The climbing species, ^fffo(t« altemata,A.»eandeiu(TJaadRomoha^ena iadittriga aUo did considerable damage in cntting the foliage and blos- som bads of frnit trees and grape and honeysuckle vines. We found that bits of old carpet or gnnny sacks, crumpled or folded, made the
HISOELLAHKOUB PAPBB8. 81
most iDviling traps for these worma, and an examination of tfaese dar- ing the dS7-time seldom failed to reveal a considerable namber of the worms enjoying the treacheroas hiding places. This kind of trapping is no more tronble than and is much preferable to the application of poisons to or aronnd the plants attacked,
Flea-beetlee fPhyllotreta vittata aad P. zimmermatmij were in this locality conspieaons for their scarcity daring the eatire season. This immnnity is probably to be attributed in part tx> the extreme dronth and conseqnent baking of the soil of the preTions year, and, in the case of the last-named species, to the eradication of the weeds X«p{- dium and ArabU, which are the favorite food plants of its leaf-mining larvie.
The plum cnrcnlio did comparatively little damage during the present season, although atone f^ite abounded more than they had done for five yeara. The later peaches saffered most, principally ttom their pnnotares for food.
The codling moth did no appreciable damage throughout the State, so fax as I can leam, and within my personal observation certainly not more than five per cent of an anosoally foil crop was "wormy." A few enterprising orchardiBts' of my acqnaintance were at the expense of prooaiing spraying apparatna and araeDtc or Paria green. Theae were need liberally, in some casea disastrously for the orchards, and the owners were chagrined to leam, later on, that neighboring orchards, not treated, enjoyed an equal inmunity ftom the apple worm.
The army- worm (Leuoania vnipunetaj made its appearance in many parts of the State, and did considerable injory to grass and small grains. So far as I ha\e been informed, it mostly developed in the fields where first observed and did not migrate in companies. In Montgomery county, however, some ditching was done to check ita Incuraions. In St. Loais county it was quite .destructive in the spring, not only on farms but in Buborban gardens, catting off the earlier plantings of sweet corn, and dwarfing the small plate of rye, oats and sorghum sown for pastnrage and chicken feed. A large proportion of the worms I collected were paraaited by Tacbina and lokneumsnida. The snc- ceediQ^ broods of tbeae worms did not attract any attention. The moth is "always with us', and is more commonly taken dnring autumn than at any other season.
l«af-oatting bees (MegackileJ, which have been for a few years past saoh depredators on the beauty of our more delicately colored fiowers as to rank them among flrst-class pests, were much less na* merons the present eeasou. I can only account for this on the theory
.,g\e
82 STATE HOBTICULTUBAL SOOIBTT.
that the frequent and heavy midSQinmer showers drowned the larrie and probably to some extent the matnr^ bees, eince, with as, tbey bad aoqnired the habit of asing tannela in the groand for tbeir aests. I have freqaeutly seen them carrying their doral fllohinga into these holes, but whether they tbeinselves dig tbem (which does not seem probable, scarcely possible, indeed), or merely make nse of the excava- tions of some other insect or spider, 1 have not been able to ascertain.
Grapta interrogationit, which with ns feeds principally on the elm, this snmmer attacked the bop vines in and aronnd Kirkv ood to a rain- oas degree. It also fed largely on the hackberry fOeUis.)
A Plague of Psf/lla lice. — For some years we have been greatly annoyed dnring the months of September and October by swarms of these insects (Paehypaiflla e. vetUsulum,) bred from small, blister-like galls oQ the leaves of a fine hackberry tree, distant abont fifteen feet from the house. Id their search for winter qnartexs they invaded kitchen and dining-room, hall and chambers, settling on table linen and food and on the beds, even making their way between the sheets, oaoa- ing mnch discomfort and diagast. They are so small that wire screens were no barrier to their ingress. Becently the nnisance becaTne insup- portable, and with much relactance the tree was condemned to the ax.
Chloridea rhexia on Geraniums. — The handsome larva of this hand- some motb nsoally shows a preference for feeding in concealment, and nnti) this jear I hod only reared it from the frnit of Pkysalia iiiBcota, the inttated calyx of which afforded it the reqaisite protection. This sammer acconntx were bronght to me by several neighbors of certain "red worms" that were eating the blossoms of their eeraninms. I presently obtained some, and was mnch interested in observing the col- orational adaptation to the part of the plant on which they preferred to feed. Indeed, so brilliant were tbeir colors that I failed to recognize them, and took a description and preserved specimens in alcohol (which have lost tbeir color, however, to a great extent), nnder the impression that I had something new. When the moths emerged abont three weeks later I was surprised to recognize in tbem a species with which I bad long been familiar. The only remedy employed was to pick them by hand from the infested flower tmsses, and the eye required some practice befoie they were readily distinguished.
The Serenteen-pear Cicada. — Passing across northern Illinois from Chicago westward, abont the middle of August, the work of the cicadas on the forest trees and orchards of that section of the State was so conspicuous as to occasion mnch remark from travelers. Many small trees, both oak and apple, were killed outright, and entire groves bad
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UI8CBLLANB0US PAPERS.
the appearance of baviD^r been severely scorched by fire. The insects seemed to be more nnmerons, jadgiog by their effects, than they were in 1871, when I remember making similar obserrations at the same time of that year.
THE CABBAGE OUBCULIO, fCeutorhynchua »api.J
Bming the latter part of April Mr. Henry Scbnell, of the Glasgow (Uo.) small frnits and vegetable fiirms, wrote me concerning an insect that was proving very destmetive to cabbage plants in hia hot-beds. Specimens of the affected plants were inclosed, which were foQnd to be punctured and l^etted in the crown and along the piincipal veiae, a large proportion of the plants being killed by these attacks.
A few days.later I received from Mr. Schnell several specimens of a small, dark gray cnrcniio, with the information that it was " the same insect that had destroyed a considerable number of his plants in the field, later in the season of the previous year." A package of young cabbage plants was also inclosed, almost every one of which was found to be pQDctnred in the center or at the side of the crown, and con- tained a small white grab, which was boring downward into the root, it6 soft castings filling the tnnnet in its rear and being often forced oat throagh the entering fissure. Mr. Schnell wrote: "They have already rained over one-half of 40^000 plants in my hot-beds, and I should like to be prepared to check their depredations another year, now would a good salt dressing do for the beds, after taking ont the plants, to kill the larvfB that might be in tbe ground T"
In answer to the query I advised a thorough drenching with hot water instead of the aslt application, which might prevent the growth of other plants, for which the beds would be needed after the cabbage was removed. Many of Mr. Schnell's first settings of plants m the field alao wilted and died, as it was impossible always to select such as had not been stuug. However, by destroying as far as possible all that showed signs of injury, and by thoroughly scalding the botrbeds, as he informed me later, he so redaced the aumbers of the pest as to escape seriona loss in his later plantings, and by the 1st of Jane both beetles snd larvte had completely disappeared.
Tbe experience of my correspondent with this insect would seem to be nuiqae, as it has not heretofore, so fiir as I can learn, committed any depredations to entitle it to a place in American works on economic
84 STATE HOBTICTTLTURAI. 8001BTY.
entomology. It ie to be hoped that this iDBtaooe waa, bo to speak, » "sporadic" deTelopmeot, and not a "first appearaDoe" of what U destined to become a general pest.
Althongh unnamed in my collection nnti] bindly determined for m« last spring by Professor Biley, the species was not entirely unknown to me, as I had bred it several years before from larvse boring the stalks of the wild pepper grass (Lepidium virginioum] early in the spring.
A NEW APPLE-TWIG BOEER. (ElaphiAion ocellata, Hald.)
Early in September of last year (1887) a correspondent, who is a large orchardist in soathern Missonri, sent me a lot of 'apple twigs con- taining the larvte of a longicorn borer, which he informed me was proving very destroctive to the recent growth of his young apple trees. My first impression was that the insect was Elapkidion villoavm, or par- ellelum, if there is really any difference between these two. A critical examination, however, revealed characters clearly distinguishing it from these species. The larva varied in length from 12 to 16 millime- ters, those most nearly matnre being 3 millimetern in diameter across thoracic segments. The segments were narrow, somewhat angulated, mnch wrinkled, with papillate elevations on dorsum and venter bear- ing interrupted comeoas ridges ; incisions very deep. Color, bright golden yellow. Head rather small, dark brown, and much like that of H. villoium. The most characteristic feature is the shield-shaped cor- neoQB plate, resembling that of the larvie of Onoideres cinffulatus, aria* ing obliquely from the head and covering the entire dorsuiii of the first thoracic segment. The apex of this plate is roughened with dark brown stippling, presenting the appearance, to the eye but not to the touch, of a small, spongy pad. The stigmata are iacouspicuons. Legs and pro- legs entirely undeveloped.
These larvte, having completely hollowed oat the twigs in which they were working when received, were successfully transferred to fresh ones, into which they at once entered and began to bore hungrily. They devour not only the pith but the woody fibre, ejecting the granu- lated frass through pin-like holes cut through the bark at irregular in> tervals.
MISaBLLANEOnS PAPBBS. 80
When winter set in, fearing that these larvie might not be able to complete their transfoTmations in the diy air of the honse, I put the ttrigB containing them in a vire-ctoth box and fostened it near the ground to a sbmb in the garden.
Early in April I examined into their condition and found them healthy and unchanged. Not considering it probable that they vonld transform very early, if at all this season, I did not pay any farther at- tention to them for three or fonr weeks, and was mnch gorprised, on May 8, to find that all the beetles, three in nnmber, were perfected, the pupal period being apparently very short.
The species proved to be, aq I had anticipated, one not previoasly reported as injurious, and was kindly determined for me by Prof. Biley as the one named at the head of these notes.
Tbe beetle is of slender form, somewhat smaller than E. villotvmj with blnisb-black, densely punctate elytra, which are slightly but grad- nally constricted in tbe middle and notched at the tips. Thorax doll red, with a conspicnons black spot on each side of the median line. Head black, antennie nearly eqoaling the length of the body, and under legs yale reddish brown.
In Joly of the present year I receired ftrom Mr. Elliott a second consignment of twigs containing this borer in Tarious stages of growth, with the information that it was more abundant than last year, notwith- standing his care at the time to cut and bam all twigs observed to be infested. As his orchards are very extensive, it is not surprising that a sufflcient number of beetles escaped last autumn to more than keep op the succession,
I have not been able to ascertain whetherany account of the habits of this species accompanied the original descriptions, but as tbe orchards from which it was reported to me are located in the Ozark mountains, ao called, it probably migrated from some tree or shrub indigenous to the forests of that region. It is undoubtedly annually brooded, and there is occasion to fear that it will become a more pernicions pest than its congeners, E. villotum, or Onciderea cingulattu. The only remedy seems to be persistent pruning of the twigs betraying its presence. It is possible that spraying the foliage with Paris green during the month of May would lend to keep tbe beetle from the trees, but the experi- ment has not yet been made.
.y Google
STATS HOBTICULTUBAL SOGIBTY.
INSECTICIDES. (Report by Prof. Cook, of Michlgin.)
THE ABSBNITES.
As I treated this sabject so fally ia Bnlletin Ko. 53, 1 will only state conclasioDS at tbis time. As Loudon purple is mnch cheaper than Paris green, costing only !5 cents per pound, and is jtist ae effec- tive in practical nse, it shonld always be need when it can be had, nn- lesa on very tender foliage, like thai of the peach, when only Paris green should be made nse of. It is still a question if the araenites should be Dsed on the peach.
London pniple may be used either dry, mixed with land plaster — one ponnd of the poison to eighty or one hnndred of the plaster, or^ mixed with water, one ponnd to two hnndred gallons of water.
It is not the strength of the mixture, bnt the force and thorongh- ness with which it is applied, that eecnree enccess. The water mix- tore, which will nsnally be most satisfactory, shonld be kept welt stirred, that the heavy mineral poison may not settle. Hhonid never be applied to fruit trees till the blossoms fall from the trees. Shonld be applied to apple trees bnt once, except in case of very heavy rains, when it shonld be repeated two or three weeks after the first applica- tion ; should be used two or three times at intervals of ten days or two weeks on the plnms, and after every heavy rain ; may be used to defend against the potato beetle, and all leaf or bud-eating insects that defoliate onr fruit trees early in the season, and on our shade trees for snch iueeete at any time. Force pumps (see Bnlletine 39 and 53) are excellent to apply the water mixture to potato vines and to fruit and shade trees. By use of a barrel or tank mounted high on a wagon, we can treat potato vines and low shrnbe, etc, by aid of gravity, very - easily and cheaply. It is too bad that oar fruit trees are so high that we cannot treat them in the same way. Onr experiments last season {See Bulletin 53) prove eonclnsively that if the arsenitee are properly applied there is no danger of pasturing nnder frait trees at once. That is, if we nse one ponnd of the poison to two hundred gallons of water.
In the apple orchard the nse of London pnrple is so valuable that no one can afford to neglect its practice. TJsedjast after the blossoms of the latest blooming varieties, like the Northern Spy, have follen, this substance destroys the codling moth, tent caterpillar, canker worm,
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MIBOBLLXifBOnB FAPEBB. 87
and several miiiDte leaf-rollers ; all of whicb are eerions pests, acd often do great damage. Here, tben, is a case where tbe orchardiet cad kill several birds with a single etooe.
THE BOSDBAUX MIXTVBB.
This valoable fnngicide is prepared as follows: Six poandsof salphate of copper are dissolved in six gallons of hot water ; in an- other vessel foar pounds of fresh lime are slaked in six gallons of cold water. After the latter eolation faas cooled, slowly tarn it into the other solation and add ten gallons of water. This, when all is tfaoroQghly mixed, is ready for use.
Prof. C. M. Weed, of the Ohio experiment station, has shown that when this is nsed to spray plum trees, the plum rot is wholly kept in check. Prof. Weed recommends that in spraying for the curcolio, we Qse this Bordeaax mixture, instead of water, that is, we add one poand of London purple to two hundred gallons of the Bordeaux mixture. Thus we may not only defend against the curcolio, but the rot as well. Those troubled with the plum rot may well act npon this suggestion.
BUHACH, OB CALIFOBNIA PTBETHBUU. This much-named powder is the home-grown and faome-maon&c- tured *' pyre thrum," "insect powder," "Persian insect powder," " Dal- matian insect powder," etc,, etc. Bahnch is the trade name of the Cal- ifornia or home-produced product. It is better to use this bnhacb, as we thus patronize our own manabctnres ; and besides, tbe active prin- oiple, as shown by Dr. Hilgard of California, is a volatile substance. So, if the powder is not reasonably ftesb, it is likely to be worthless. It is well to euGoarage our draggists to get the buhach, and to parcfaase in rather small qnantities, so that it shall be ased soon after it is pre daoed. If kept, it should be in air-tight jars. This insecticide is simply the powdered flowers and stems of certain species of the genas of plants known as pyrethrum. Like the arsenites, this may be ased as a powder, sifting it onto the plants, or mixed with water, a heaping table-spoonfnl to two gallons of the liquid. I have nsnally fonnd the liquid more effective than the powder, only I think, as by dashing it onto tbe plants, It strikes more of the insects. This insecticide also kills by contact, and not by being eaten. This powder is to be recom- mended in that it is entirely non-poisonous to man and the higher ani- mals. It is to be regretted that it is not always fatal to all insects. Thus I have found that many bags and beetles are entirely uninjured, to all appearances, by its use. I know of nothing better for the cab- bage caterpillar— " worm " — the green larva which has become so
88 STATE HOBTIOULTtT&AL SOCIETY.
deetrnctjve in oar gardens. I have been sarprised at our sDoceee with this powder io riddiog cor cabbsgee of these caterpillars. I have fonnd that I coald destroy more of the insects by nse of the liqnid miitnre than by nse of tbe powder. Of course there is no danger in its nse. This insecticide is also excellent to kill bonse-flies. We tempt the flies to the kitchen as far as possible, in the late afternoon, close this room as tightly as possible in the evening, and by nae of a cheap, small band bellows throw a little of^the dust into the room. Early in the morning the flies now prostrate on the floor shoold be swept ap and cremated in the kitchen stove, else some of them may come to life again.
This powder will kill the pear and cherry tree sings, the rose Blag, etc. Mr. E. Oarman, of the Bnral New Yorker, says that it will exter- minate, if nsed thoroughly and ^eqnently, that most abominable insect pest, the " rose chafer '' or " rose bng." Babach can also be nsed with snccess to destroy plant lice, and the parasitic lice that infest poultry and other domestic animals ; bnt for the former the kerosene emulsion is more satisfactory, and for the latter I think there is a better sub- stance, as will appear.
TOBACCO DBCOCTION.
The use of tobacco smoke in closed rooms, like forcing hoases and conservatories, is too well known to need remark. That a decoc* tion is also very valuable is perhaps not so well known. For this pur- pose even the stems, ot refuse powder, which can be got very cheaply in tobacco factories, will answer well. A pound of the tobacco to two or three gallons of water makes a very effective decoction. I tnm tbe boiling water onto the tobacco, and when cool atrun ont the tobacco, and the decoction is ready for nse. Last summer I found this very effective against the striped flea beetle, and the cucumber flea beetle, both of which Insects are often very troublesome to the gardner. If further nee confirms this property of the tobacco decoction, ve have in it a very valuable insecticide, and may hope by further ezperimeiit to greatly extend its use. This, too, I think the best sabstauce to use in the destruction of lice on cattle, horses, and for ticks on lambs. True the kerosene emnleion will kill such lice, but it does not destroy the lice so entirely, and does not leave the hair of the animtd looking so well. I have used both and prefer the tobacco. In cold weather, after thoroughly washing the animal to be treated, it should be warmly blanketed and kept in a warm place until dry.
Tbe work of washing an animal is not great. I have, unaided, washed s large cow in ten minutes, and I did it well. Neither is it a
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MI8CELLAHB0U8 PAPBB5.
disagreeable task. I preSDine a force pamp might be nsed in this caee, bat it would take more of Ibe decoctioa, and I prefer to roll np my aleeves and do the washing b; hand ; then 1 know it ia thoroDghly done.
PRESBBVATIVB FLUIDS FOE FEESH FEUITS. Unlveraitr of CaUfomli— Ballet! n No. 86. E. W. Hllgard, Dlr., Berkeley, Cal.
As the f^t BeaaoD approaches there is a constant inquiry for some mode of preserving fruit samples for exhibition at the several f^s. As a general answer to inqniries of this kind that have already oome dropping in, I give the following data in regard to the more sncoessfnl preservatives that are within reach of the practice of any intelligent farmer. I preface them with an explanation of the demands made upon BQch preservative methods, for the benefit of those to whom the sab- ject may be new, in order that they may better adapt their practice to circnmBtances.
1. The preservatives mnst prevent all fermentation, molding or other fnngons attacks. This, of coarse, means that the ontside of the irait, and the air or liqaid aronnd it, shall Jbe " sterilized " in some way compatible with the preservation of the form, at least, of the fruit or T^ietable. We are practically reduced to the use of antiseptics, acting at the ordinary temperature.
2. The preservative shonld be a liqaid. This liquid, besides being an efficient antiseptic, shonld not exert any solvent or softening action upon the skin of the fi-oit. This condition excludes from the ontset all alkaline solutions (such ase.;., cyanide of potassium, silicate of soda, etc.) and all of the stronger acids including acetic acid or vinegar.
3. The antiseptic fluid should not extract or change the color of the fruit. This is one of the most difficult conditions to fulflll, and yet one of the most essential. It excludes at onoe so excellent a preserva- tive as alcohol, and many others that wonid otherwise be available, among others, common salt.
4. The preservative fluid should neither canse the fmit to swell, ao as to increase its size, and sometimes burst it, nor should it have the opposite effect of causing it to shrink. This implies that in the ex- change that will unavoidably occur between the juice inside and the fiaid oatside, the two shall p^s through the skin with about equal rapidity.
90 BTATE EORTIGTTLTUBAL SOCIETY.
The ase of engor to brin^f up the density of the aotieeptic solation to that of the f^ait jaice QstnralLy suggests itself^and with some fruits very good resalts may be obtained iu that way. Still, sagar being itself easily fermeDtable and liable to change tint when not very pare, it is preferable to nse glycerine, which can cow be obtained so cheaply as to render it available to all, and which is for practical purposes anchange- able when so used. According to aotoal trial, commercial "pare" gly- cerine will act very satiBfoctorily when ased per cent for per cent in place of sugar, To do this by liquid meatmre, nse 1-5 per cent of gly- cerine as eqoal to 1 per cent of sagar.
Like alcohol, however, glycerine exerts a alight solvent action apon many ii-uit colors; e. g., that of cherries, blackberries, etc.
Common salt has the disadvantage of darkening all vegetable colors after a comparatively short time; and Glauber's salt, alum and other commonly available salts exert a not inconsiderable solvent action upon colors, which renders their nse inadvisable.
Of antiseptics the following ore the mosl available: 8alieslie aeid; boraoie acid; sulphurous acid, and its compound, bisulphite of loda (and of lime) ; last but not least, biMoride of tneroury or corrosive snb- limate.
Salie^lie acid, or its compoond with soda, both obtainable in com- merce, is one of the beat and most energetic anUseptica. Its ube in spiritnoas flnids is bnt too well known ; in watery solution it is not so much ased on account of some difficulty in making it dissolve, par- ticularly when the water is cold. An ounce of the acid dissolves in a little less than five gallons of water at the ordinary temperature ; bnt when it is simply thrown on the water it may float there a long time, being very light, and most persons will think that it will not dissolve in that proportion. In hot or boiling water there is no difSonlty, and the solution is made very easily by the addition of a little carbonate of soda (salsoda) even without beating. But when matting use of the soda it is absolutely necessary to avoid an excess, aa the uncombined soda ex- erts » very injurious influence upon the preservation of trnits.
A solution of one ounce of salieylic add to fire gallons of water, to wkiok aa much glycerine has been added as corresponds to the density of the fruit juice, constitatea a preservative fluid which has been ased with very satisfactory resalts heretofore. Trouble has arisen from the nse of too much soda in making the acid dissolve; aa already stated, with patience or heating, the water alone will dissolve the acid, and aoda need not be used at all.
Boraoie acid, while an excellent preservative so far as the mere prevention of decay or fermentation goes, is more liable than the ssli-
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cylio to BofteD the skiD and alter the colors of fmit, acting in that respect, iu some cases, lik<t alkaline solntion. It is therefore not well adapted to long conservation of samples in their natural aspect, bat trill do well for a few weeks with most fruits. Use the solntion as strong as water will make it, which is abont five ounces per gallon.
Sulphurous aeid, the same sabstance of which the nse is so much abused in frait-drjiug, and in the treatment of wines, can also be employed in solution for the preservation of fruits. This eolation may be made directly from the gas of barniDg sulphur, by an operation sufficiently familiar to cellarmen and described below. It is, however, more con- venient and jnst as good to use its combination with soda, viz., the "bisalpbite" of soda (not that of lime, used in bleaching saccharine Joicee, as it will form deposits upon most fruits], heretofore sold under the fanciful name of " Oalifomia fruit salt," and recommended for use in canning fruit for human cousnmption. Those whose digestion is better than necessary, and who do not object to the sulphurous flavor of the fruit so preserved, may cboose to so use the preparation. Its merits as an antiseptic are nnquestioned ; its bleaching effects are equally so, and as in enlphnring wines, the natut^ colors will suffer more or less from its use, as well as from that of the acid solution. Use 5 to 8 ounces per gallon.
The following mode of preparing a preservative fluid with sulphur- oas gas, obligingly commnnicated by Manager J. Q. Brown, has been very saccessfnily ased at the rooms of the State Board of Trade at San Francisco :
" Pot 30 gallons of water into a 40-gallou barrel ; float on top of the water a tin pan, in which put a portion of 25 cents' worth of sol- phur. Set the sulphur on Are and cover tightly until the Are goes out ; renew the sulphur until the whole is consumed, opening the barrel for renewal of air between the doses."
While this mode of proceeding is somewhat wasteful of snipbar and could be improved npon by a cellarman, yet it is so simple, and shlpbur is so cheap, that it may well be recommended for nse on the
Quite lately the use of mereurte bichloride or corrosive sublimate for this purpose has been brought prominently forward by Prof. P, Pichi, of the laboratory for botany and vegetable pathology in the Boyal Viti* cultural School of Conegliano, Italy. In an article pablished in April nnmber of the official journal of that school, Prof. Pichi discusses the requirements for the preservation especially of collections of grapes, probably the most difficult of all. He states that after experimental trials of all the usual preservative solutions, such as alcohol of various
92 8TATB HOBTICULTUHAL 80CIBTT.
Btrengths, and of watery solutions of salicylic, boraoic and other acids, and Baits of copper, he finally made trials with solntiooB of corrosive eahlimate ranging f^om 1 to 4 pro mille in strength.
The final conclasions are stated as follows :
Prom all thktliae been here reported, I believe tbe conclnsloD to be justified that grape buoohes can be best preeerved for collectlODs by keeping them Immereed Id & solution of corrosive sublimate, taking special care to waah them thoronghl7 beforebaod. The best strength for tbls solution appears to be i piv milU; It will probablj be advantageous to renew the Bolntloo at the end of the first two years, and perhaps subsequently at similar Intervals ; but we shall thus have assured the preservation of the grapes, with all thelresterlor natural characters, aod with but a trifling expense, for a nnmber of years.
The author finally calls attention to the poisonoas nature of the preserving fluid, which is, however, the same naed in pathological laboratories for the disinfection of hands and inatrnmeDte after nse in anatomical dissections.
The strength above referred to as the best is equal to half an onnce of corrosive SQblimate to a gallon of water.
THE SULPHURING OF DRIED FRUITS. j£. W. Hllgard, Berkeley, Cal.
The writer's views on the above subject have been so often ex- pressed before meetings of frDit-growers,and in print before the general public, that it might seem nncalled-for to reiterate their formal expres- sion in this place. Yet the frequent requests, both written and verbal, for sach expressions, seem to render it the briefest mode of disposing of the Bubject — the more as the only radical solution of the question lies in its being more and moreihllynnderstood by consumers (to whom these presents are equally addressed), who now sacrifice good flavor and healthfulnesB to mere appearance.
The Bulphuriug of dried fruit has two chief objectB. One, and that most generally kept in view, is tbe brightening of the color, which always darkens, particularly in sliced fruit, in whatever way it may be dried — the change of color being doe to the action of the air (oxygen) upon certain easily changeable substances contained in all fruits. This darkening (mostly to a light brown) ia a practically inevitable reenlt of drying any fruit in contact with air, whether in sousbiue or by artificial heat, and should be looked for by every conBomer,ae the natural maik of an honest, nnmanipulated article.
HLSCELI^ANBOna PAFBBB, 93
The second object Boaglit to be attuned by salpharing is to render the fruit secnie from the attacks of inBects, whether by renttering itB snrfoce aupalatsble before the eggB are laid, ot by killing eggs laid during sno-diying, that might sabaequently hatch in the packages. The latter object involves, of coarse, the sulpharing of the dried fruit, the former ie to a greater or Icbb extent attained by enlphnring before drying.
Th« effects of 8a]pharoasacid(the gas — not the visible fames — given off from burning snlphnr) as a disinfectant and bleaching agent, are generally understood. The gaB is abaorbed by the moisture of the frait, to an extent depending npou the time of exposnre, its fresh or dried condition, and the amoant of snlphnr need.
When fteshly sliced &nit ia snlpbnred for a short time, the gas penetrates only " skin-deep ;" and when the fnit is afterward dried whether in the san or drier, most of the gas escapes, and few persons voald note the difference in taSte produced thereby. Inaects, never- theless, are to a very taateritU extent deterred f^om tonching snch frait.
Bat when the latter is dried and then Ihoronghly salphared, aa la too commonly done, the effect is mnch more aeiiocs. The gas then penetrates the entire spongy mass, bleaching it, bo that careleasly dried fmit, too dark to be marketable, can thos be made to appear more or leas inviting to the eye — not, however, to the nostrils or to the taste, for with the color, the Savor has alao snffered correspondingly ; and upon opening a package of anch f^ait, instead of the natural aroma, there appears the flavor fiimiliar to those who visit a chemieal labora- tory, or acid mann&ctory.
The consumer then has reason to object to dry-sulphured fmit on two coants, either of which Is sufDcient to condemn the practice. One is that dirty, ill-prepared or damaged fmit may thns be imposed upon him for good qaality; the other, that the natural flavor of the frait is either serionaly impaired or sometimes almost completely destroyed, and (aa will be shown) its acidity greatly increased.
There ia another and very serious coont in the indictment, namely, that snch fmit ie anhealtby because containing an antiseptic that im- pedes digestion, and while the frnit iB relatively fresh, oaases headaches jast as will sulphured wine.
In addition to rendering the frait unpalatably acid, it had been rendered obnoxioaa both to the digestive organs and to the teeth. I^o one coald habitually consume such frnit without feeling the effects of such an amonnt of mineral acid, introduced into his food purely for the gratification of the eye with an nnnataral tint.
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Vi STATE HOSTIOULTUBAL 800IETT.
Bat so loug as the pnblic. and its agents the dealers, continue willing to pay from 30 to 50 per cent more for the whitened sepnlcbres offered them in the shape of snlphered fruit than for that which retains, with its aataral flavor and swdetoess, the natnral tint of dried frnit, and with it the marks of o^eful or careless treatment, so loug will the prodncer continue to snpply the demand for the doctored article — nnless, indeed, the law shoald intervene, as has been done in most European countries. There the sale of sulphured frnit is simply forbidden aa injnrioaB to pablic health, and as coming under suspicion of having been " doctored up " from an inferior article with frandolent intent.
When, therefore, it is asked what I think is tJbe proper policy to be pursued in this respect by a region which tbis year will for the first time come into the dried fruit market, I reply that I think the time has come to make a step forward and [ry to pat upon the market a first- class article of " ansolphured dried fniit," with the express statement and claim that it is nnsalpbnred and retains the natnral sweetness and flavor of Oalifoniia fruit, instead of being reduced to a common level with the worst products of any other country. For it is certain that the whitish-green dried apples and pears now sold at high prices in our grocery stores might jost as well have been grown anywhere from Norway to the Mediterranean for aught they teach of the quality of onr fruits.
The following suggestions are offered to those who are willing to practice salphnring to a moderate degree only, and with some regard to the conservation of the fruits' palatableness :
Large quantities of sulphur Introduced at once into the drier or sulpburing-box will tend to cause a deposit of sulphur, in substance, on the outside of the fruit, adding its flavor to that of the acid, which alone Is useful. The less sulphur is put in at one time, and the more air admitted, the less there will be of the visible fumes that carry tbe sulphur up into the fruit. It is beet to let the sulphur catch fire all over before putting it into the box at all.
Let whatever solphnring you mast do be done before drying, as in that case not only will the drying process itself drive off a great deal of tbe snperfiona acid and prevent it from penetrating the whole, but the flavor of tlie interior will penetrate outward and measurably do away with the laboratory odor that will otherwise pervade the fruit package.
A very sightly and appetizing cinnamon-brown tint for sliced apples and pears may be secured by dipping, for a few minutes, the freshly made slices, contained in a properly shaped basket (of galvanized wire
HI8CELLAKE0US PAPERS. 95
if d«Bired], into a nolatioa of salt contfuning uot leas than two oanoes -in Ave galloDS of water. This prevents an; Bpottiog where the ftnit hae been toncbed. Instead of the salt, a similar solotion of the bisnl- phites of soda or lime ma; be used, which effect a slight external bleach- ins withont injnr; to the flavoi of the frnit.
Last, bat not least, let as try to gradoall; edncste the pablic taste ap to the point of prefering in this matter the substance to the shadow, and accepting healthy, brown, high-fiavored dried fruit to the sickly-- tinted, cbemioal-tainted product of the aalphor box.
SPRING AND SUMMER REMEDIES Keoommended by the State Inspector of Fntlt Peete of California.
FOE CODLING MOTH. The most snccessfol remedy last season proved to be the arsenical mixtares. Of the three, Paris green, London pnrple, white arsenic, vherever nsed in the coast counties, where more or less damp nights prevail, the two latter did some damage to the foliage, and for this reason and that its effect is most lasting, the Paris green seems to be preferable.
STBENaTH TO BE U&BD.
Of five samples analyzed last year by the University of California, four bad above 54 per cent arsenic, one going 3S per cent. In accord- ance with this we would recommend early ripening apples and pears to be sprayed once with one poond of Paris green to 180 gallons of water, wben jast oat of bloom. For fall and winter apples it may be advisa- ble to spray ten days later with an application of one pound to 200 gallons, while the blossom end of the apples is still tamed upward. This (two treatments), according to my own experience, seemed safe on White Winter Pearmain and Yellow Newtown Pippin, while it proved nnaafe on Belldowers. Therefore, the behavior of other varieties shoald be noted.
We recommend to nse the Paris green without any additions, sim- ply stirring the liquid continnally ; also, straining it before using.
Use a fine nozzle. Cyclone, Crofton or Imperial.
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8T&TE BOBTIOULTDBAL SOOIETT.
SULPHIDE OP SODA AND WHALE OIL SOAP
Ib worthy of farther trial, and eepeeially for a third sprajiog aboat a month after the last spntfing (in cMe of winter varieties.)
For manner of preparation, see nnder head of sammer washes for scale insects.
We propose to test both London pnrple and white arsenic. Easi- .ern growers contend that one poond of arsenic to 600 gallons of water is sufficient; at present I cannot recommend it.
We believe that in isolated places probably one sprayine of Paris green will snffioe ; however, when the orchard is sarronnded with in- fested orchards not treated, the fall course of spraying, first with Paris green twice, and followed with enlpbide and soap, seem to be necessary.
POSSIBLE DANGBB OF nSING THE ABSBNITES.
While, the greatest care shonld be taken in handling the arsenic mixtoFC, avoiding getting an; in cnts on ttie hands, also preventinji^ either baman beings or animals from eating the yoang fmit (stock should be exclnded &om the orchard for at lest six weeks), we believe that if no application is made after the ^it has commenced to tnrn downward, there is really no danger to be apprehended. The foct seems to be that, in ease of an overdose being used on a tree, the foliage is affected to snch an extent that the leaves on the froit trees will fall, and with them the &ait. This is the experience in the coast climate.
BAND SYSTEM.
As an additional help of decreasing the last broods of codlin moth, the banding system is certainly worth following ; bnt, besides putting barlap bands aronnd the tree, say one foot from the ground, on larger trees it will be necessary to put rags in the crotches of the trees, and examine these, as well as the band, once a week.
FOR PLUM APBIS AND WOOLLY APHIS, ABOVB GROUND.
Fonr ponnds of resin ; three ponnds of sal-soda: water to make H gallons. Dissolve the sal-soda in a few pints of water; when thor- onghly dissolved, add the resin. Heat nntil dissolved, and add water finally. TJse Ij pints of solution to the gallon of water. Use a tem- perature of about 100° Fahrenheit.
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MISOBIXANEOUS PAPERS.
DESTRUCTION OF THE SPABEOW.
There are a namber of ways to deatroy the aparrow. Trappiog by meftiis of a bird net is practiced by experts, but tbe eparrow, consider- iog their unmbers, is the most diffiotilt of all birds to catch. The gan is the more ready weapon. In city limits, where sparrows are the thickest, this caimot be ased except by persons having anthority to make this their special bnsiness. Probably the most snccessfdl method is to nse poison. Wheat soaked ia a eolation of strychnine, in a por- tion of one drachm to a qnart of water, is one of the most efficient poi- sons. However, experience shows that this flomponnd is too rapid in its resalts, as some of the birds begin to be atfected before all present hare taken a fatal dose, and when once scared away by the dying agony of poisoned birds, the others never retnm. Arsenic mixed with com or oat meal in the proportion of one part of arsenic to ten or fifteen parts of meal, by weight, makes a less expensive poison and is more slow in ita action, thus giving all birds ample time to getaway from the feed before they become affected. In order to obtain the best resnlte the birds shonldbe fed for a few ^ys at flrst^ pore grain of the same kind that is to be poisoned.
MANURE. Report of California Expeiimeiit StatioD.
The subjoined table' gives some insight into the amonnts removed from the soil by some of the chief fmit crops, of nitrogen, potash, phosphoric acid and lime — these being, according to ail experience, the only ones of which the replacement need ordinarily be considered in fertilization. These amounts are expressed both with reference to 1,000 pounds of fresh ftuit, and to what, according to onr best informa- tion, may be assumed to be a " fi»ir crop " per acre. The latter figure is, of course, liable to great variations and differences of opinion ; bnt
• The koalyaea of attaes here glren are mostly those of European obemlste, gea> eially Acc«pt«d as representing averages. California- grown fruits will be Investi- gated at this Station the coming season for this parpose.
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98
STATE HO&TICULTUBAL SOCIETT.
1); the aid of a little arithmetic each one caa calculate for himself the data suitable to his owd ease or views. The crop assamed in the case of oranges is 335 boxes per acre of 1 5-year-old trees ; that of grapes is intended to represent a mean between uplands and lowlands.
qUAXTITIU OF SOIL INORIDtEITTS WITHDRAWN BY TABIOnS fRDIT CROPS.
Freab fruit.
Total aah, Potub, Ibl. lbs. I
Pbos. aotd, Nitrogen,
lbs.
lbs.
Grapee, 1,000 IbB
Crop of 10,000 Ibe. pet acre
Orknges (ifeedlesB), 1 ,000 pounds . .
Crop of 20,000 tbe. per acre
Pears, 1,000 IbB
Crop of 20,000 lbs. per acre
Plnms, 1,000 IbB
Crop of 30,000 IbB. per acre
Apples, 1,000 Ibe
Crop of 20.000 lbs. per acre
S.78 66.60
1.72 51.60
16.00
1. 53 16.90
13.30 .03 6.00
1.70 17.00
3.69 63.80
167.7
.6
13.0
It will be seen that for equal weights of these finits, grapes take from the soil by far the largest am>)nQt of mineral matter, of which nearly five-ninths is potash; they also carry off the largest amount of phosphoric acid. For seedless grapes the latter item wonld, however, be considerably smaller.
Kext in the drain of total mineral matter from tbe soil stands the orange ; it also draws heavily on the potash, and also npon the nitro- gen of the soil, bnt less than the grape upon phosphoric acid. This independently of the seedft the analysis having been referred to seed- less frait ; seed-be^ng (seedling) fruit wonld draw more heavily both on phosphoric acid and nitrogen.
Pears come next as regards total mineral matter, but draw quite ightly on nitrogen.
Plums (including prunes) are conspicuons chiefly for their heavy draught on the nitrogen of the soil, greatly exceeding in that respect the orange for equal weights, and enormously for an (assumed) average crop.
The difference between apples and pears in respect to soU exhans- tion for an equal weight of friiit is quite striking, the amount of potash la apoles being less than half; tbe phosphoric acid only a trifle over half as much as in tbe pear ; while nitrogen is equal in both, and quite
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_JV|1^
MI8CBLLANEOU8 PAPBB8. 99
lov as compared to the orange, which has over foar times as much and mast therefore be accoaoted relatively much more nourishing to maa, «a welt as more exhaasting to the soil.
UTILITY PLFS BEAUTY.
L. A. OOODMUI, WUTFORT.
The first thought of man in hie life-work is atility. It matters not -where he is, what he is doing, how he is thinking, what he is seeing^ -where he is feeling bis way, his flrBt thought is the neefal.
A poor old cripple, watching his wife eke' ont their scanty living -with her needle, watching her day and night, bis heart fall of love for her and full of sorrow for their lot, as be sits there Watching, a sewing machine is made in hie mind to do this work. The thought of the nse- "fol up per most in bis miud brought out gradually a rough, crude machine tbat was able to do the work. Ko thought of the beautiful filled the mind of Elias Howe as bis first machine grew under his hands, but «nly the thought of the useful.
It was not until years after the saccessfnl working of ibis same machine tbat it euteied the heads of men to make them beautiful, and now we have them in all shapes and sizes, in boxes, cabinets, desks, «tc., etc.
It never entered the mind of Bobert Fulton to make a beantifdl boat when he first formed the steamboat on the Hadson. His only motive, his prevailing thought, was to make a boat which would run Against wind and tide, and bo we have the rude, cumbersome, awkward and yet useful boat which succeeded in doing what its maker intended it to do. Kow, years after, ;we have perfect palaces of steamboats, where are embodied the main thoughts of their builders to have a l>eautifal as well as UBeful boat.
In all the realm of thought and knowledge, the useful is the first «nd prevailing idea.
The old &rmer uBcd the forked stick for his plow with the only .,. thought of utility. The old cast-iron plow had only this for its goal, - and it never occurred to man until after he bad developed this, neeful to his needs, that beauty should have anything to do with it. Beauty and knowledge then go hand in hand, and we may be sure tbat as yon ' find a nation increase in knowledge and learning, yon will see them
100 BTATB HORTICULTURAL BOCIBTT.
iooreaee in the love for the beaatifal and the Qaefnl, and not th') nsefnl withont the beantifnl. Utility pins beaaty therefore is one of the facts vhich determine in oar minds the civilization of a people.
Yon may take the rnde hats of the barbarians, the log cabins of onx fathers, the caves of the clitT-dwellera, or the wigwam of the In- dians, and the first thought, in fact the only thonght, which seems to enter their mind is the thonght of ntility, and so we have the low log hoQses, the rnde cabins of our forefathers, bnilt with the idea of the nsefnl. Gradnally as thvy grow older the thonght of the beantifn) enters with the nsefnl, and we have some of them bailding anew, while many of the others who never can have the idea of the nsefnl and the beantlfnl in their minds together, move their location to points where they can only think of the aseftil. So, many of onr first settlers can- not look npon the beautifying of their coootiy, and so go to a newer agaiu.
The nsefnl and the beantifnl are the moving factors in all oar bnsi- ness transactions. To those who think of the nsefnl, in onr day and age, the beantifnl is the attractive qnality. If it be nothing more than a mop, the thonght of attractiveness is in your mind. The &rmer thiiiks of this when he bnys his ploy/, harness, wagon, horses, cows^ hogs and sheep. Beauty is what attracts the eye. In &ct, let the two be JDst as nsefnl in this day and age, yet the idea of beaoty will settle the idea of ntility, and ofttimes overbalance it. If you wish a piece of cloth or a snit of clothes, it never oocors to yon to take the aseAil when yon can get the useful and beantifnl together. The lady in search of the dress goods, a^er the first thonght of ntility, next looks to the beantifnl, and ofttimes lets the latter rnn away with the former.
Yet for these ideas we know that the first thonght of man in bia work is the useful, and the great moving power of the world is the nsefnl.
To-day we have thoasands npon thonaands of persons working with this as their moving powe:; we have thousands who are using their bnuDS for the furtherance of this idea ; thousands who are in- venting, day after day, the nsefnl.
Scarcely a paper do we pick up bnt we see the list of patents, all more or less useful ; and when these are perfected, then the thonght of -the inventor or some other is to make it beautiful, and the two mnst -" grow together as we grow.
So the first thonght of man, I say, is to the nsefnl, and the second - thonght is to the useful and the beaotifnl^ and the last thonght is to the beantifnl alone.
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MISCBLLANBOnS PAPERS. 101
This has been the growth in the line of horticnltnre as well. First a few apple, peach, cherry, pear — perhaps some berries, if there are no wild ones; utility, and that alone, is the thoaght of too many of oar pioneers. They will cnt down trees and ahmbs, which in after years they would give thousaods to have, and years of time to replace. I Itsve kuowQ men to go into the evergreen forests and cut down every specimen within reach of the hoase and yard, and in ten years begin planting them to beautify The only thought of too many of us is the useful, and that alone, and it is a grand mistake. We need at all times to unite the two and keep them in close union in order to get the most flatisfaction ont of this life.
The home is useful, but nsef[i] only as we make it perfect, and we 'Cannot make it perfect nnlesB we make it beautiful. Perfection is only reached by the close union of the two. The home is beantiibl and yet not leas useful becanee it is beautiful, when we have the landscape, the gnsa plots, the shrubs, the flower beds, the shade trees, the evergieena, all nicely blended for use and beanty.
One -half of onr lives is a waste if we do not unite these two in all «nr work; one is as necessary as the other to the full development of manhood and womanhood, and to a full appreciation of life and its du- ties. "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy " is still true, and the opposite is also true.
This is simply another way of putting the snbject of this paper. All work makes a drudge, all utility makes dull ieeliugs, slow appreci- ation, weak senUmenta — a drudge also.
We want something higher and better, and so we look to the beau- tiful. Ic is only by the union of the two that the perfect development of character is shown.
Let us look over our own work in the same light; Did yon ever go into an orohard when every tree was perfect in form and symmetry And have it do your heart good to just see the trees, to look at them in their beanty T When, therefore, behind all this there is the fact of value in their products, then the appreciation of mind and body is MIed to its satisfactior . So, in the beautiful yard and surroundings, it does the mind good to dwell on its grand trees, lovely lawn, handsome bnild- ing, and all. Add to this, therefore, the fact of the utility it can all be put to, and yon have the acme of perfection.
I plead, therefore, in this race for the useful, we neglect not the thought of the beantifnJ, as the one should go hand in band with the other.
Let us not &il to use the useful and to beautify the beautiful if we Want the most perfect life we are capable of enjoying.
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102 STATE HOBTlCITLTOBAt. BOCIBTT.
The following extracis taken from a lectnre of David Swing : The beaatirnl (tomes Hret in the order of Datare. Many of our joaag peTBoa» enppoae tbtkt tlie beantlfal la tbe cnlniDatton of life ; but Just tbe opposite ta trne. The nsefal 1b the culoilDatiOD of bumao thought aud human effort. The child in hiB cradle will reach oat after tbe decoration, after tbe boquet of flowers, or a bril- liant ribbon, Tbe aavages In the west are all omameDtlng themselves, bnt tbe;- are not seeking dot flnding the paths of utility.
Tbe sentiment orlglnatlnff with tbe human race and extending as tbe bumaa race went forward and blossomed out into five great arts— architecture, maslo, painting, sculpture and literature, and in some ooe or all of these Tarlous forms It held the world subject for thoDsanda of yeare.
Qreece was mined by (he exulnslve study of beauty. Greece omitted utility. It never grasped the great ends of politics or religion or social life, bnt failing to- see these, stndled the arcbitecture, sculpture, painting, music and tbe graoefalness of the human form. When Xerxes was approachtog Qreec« with bis army, the great men of that nation were standing around on the Olympian held. There werfr before their eyes chariot races, the fbot-race, the shooting-match. A measeDger came In saying that Xerxes was jast over the mountains ; and those Greek philoso- phers and statesmen resolved not to suspend the games on that account. What was worse than that, only 300 men went to thepass at Thermopyln to repel Xerzes, and yet still worse, when Leonldas was defending the pass, Xeriea discovered an- other pase through which be flung a hundred thousand men, of which mountain pass the great Greek statesmrn knew nothing of the existence. 'J here was moro BtatesmanshEp In the mind ol Abraham Lincoln In his brief life than In all tbe statesmen of Greece for flve hundred years.
But passing to the great period In which the beautiful reached its culminating point, werometo the time of Hlchael Angelo. Next to Shalispeare, Michael An- gelo's was perhaps tbe greatest Intellect ever born In the world, and since we do not now know who Shakapeare was, whether he was Sbakapeare only, or Sbakspear& and Lord Bacon, Michael Angelo was tbe greatest intellect tbe world has pro- duced . But he was born in a period when only two forms of th'>ugbt occupied the- human mind ; one waa theological thought— abstruse theological thoughl^-and the other was that ornamental thought that decorated theology. Michael Angelo struck the world when the world asked for two things— either tbe abatruae theology- or the external temple, tbe church, tbe cathedral, the ttasllicand the paintings and statuary of tbe decorated church. Had Hlchael Angelo been born In Mew York In 1860, he would see before him perhaps twenty different professions. The pulptt would allure falm, the lawyer's profession would allure bim, the editorial chair would allure him, the military pursuit would ofl'er Its charms, the railroad interest Invite his genius; or. If all of these things failed, there remained tbe lightning- rod agency and tbe sewing machine Induatry and the book-can vaeser's vocatloti ;^ and if, in none of these, did be flud sntHclent allurement, then some philoso- pher would say to htm, "Go west, young man, go west." But In Michael An- gelo's day only two voices sounded in his ear. One was, "Hlcbaet, either study theology of the church or decorate this theology ;" and Angelo chose the art or decoration. And, furthermore, the women of that period were all In favor of the decorative arts. Every woman of note in Florence and Bome cultivated tbe fine arts. Bacb morning, Instead of taking a carriage and driving to tbe dry-goods store to purchase a few yards of ribbon, they would walk to where some sculptor wascarvlnginoiarble.oran architect was rearing a temple, or a Raphael was paint- ing a picture. There were not many ol theae women, but they were the Insptta-
I1IBC&LLA.NE0US PAPBRS. 103
tloD of the age. In Angpelo'a da; there were women who could recite all of VirgU or all of Homer from memory. Sometimes the artist would be Id love with some ODe of these coneptcuons womeo, uid was thus Inspired hj thftt Beottment ; and to be In love with some noble woman In those dajrs was as oataral as It Is foi as to be a Democrat or a Republican or even a Mugwump.
At the beginning of the sixteenth century there sprung up a development of the useful. The difference between the beautiful and the useful is this : The beautl- falis a sentiment ; the useful Is a thought. The useful Is the discovery of the great end aod of the good way of arriving at lt~the great end of the IndWIdnat life or the nation's Jlfe. TMs deflnltloo places it beyond the reach of the infant, tlie lodioD and the savage, and makes the asefQl depend wholly opon the method of thought. It requires thought to devise the good end and the discovery of a good way of reacbicgit. The railway which lies near your city Is a good way for oarry- iDg aronnd men, bat that does not make It useful. It must also carry men on good errands or to a good destination. If your railroad were to undertake to-morrow to carry men to a prlxe-flicbt It would be ntterly worthless, becauie men going to a prize-flght would be wicked. Men going to a prize-flght ought to walk through deep mud. Men going to a prize-light should all die on the rood.
So the useful consists in a good way of reaching a good end. This makes It oecessary that the useful be attained only by an age fnU of thought. Lord Bacon beralded the useful just about as Washington heralded liberty. Bacon did not create the useful, but stood in the midst of It and developed it. He became Its speaker, its poet, its prophet. Previous to Lord Bacon the scholars of Europe were all engaged In abstract thought about themes that bad no application to human life- Lecky says that sometimes In Europe there were Ave thousand schol- ars gathered together In woods and camps for discussion and thought upon themes that had no application to human life. One of their favorite themes was the na- ture of the human spirit, and as to how many spirits could probably dance upon the point of a needle ; and they would also Inquire what kind of a club Calc killed Abel with— whether it was hickory, oak or sassafras ; snd one of those philoso- phers wrote twenty essays on the probable height of the Virgin Mary, the proba- ble size of her bond or foot, and the probable color of her hair. They thought it dbigrocef^l to come down to the common affairs of life.
And while the men were doing this kind of thinking the women were slaves, doing the drudgery ; and this reaches over the pagan aod Christian world up to the sixteenth century. Xenophon thought the dnty of the wife lay In keeping her bnaband'B clothes mended and cleao. Up to the sixteenth century the womttn plowed the ground with a crooked stick, the men being far above the considera- tion of doing the plowing. The woman cut the grain witb a kind of case-knife ; she threshed the grain with a club ; she ground the grain with a couple of rocks ; she baked the bread In asbes. And the great man In the meanwhile was busy about the definition of spirit or the origin of the human race, or about the natnre of the Deity or the nature of the devil. Into that world came Lord Bacon, simply to turn the attention of men to what are called the common laws of human life.
But neither the Greek nor the scholastic would ever come near human life. Bacon looks at that scene, and for the first time In the history of human thought he confesses the existence of the cart and the wsgon road.thehorseand the harness and the cabbages, and be says, "U, foolish human race, why do you not let the angels alone and make a good wagon road ?" He says, "Why not feed that horse? The collar Is made out of straw, the harness is tied together with strings. The Queen of England has Just found her chariot mired in the mud, and has stood In the fence corner while her courtiers pry it out. Why not make a good road?"
101 STATE HOKTIODLTUEAL BOCIHTT.
Tble li the Bkcoaian pbllo^ophj — tbe atudj of the phenomena of the dIfB' culty, &ad the educement from the phenomena of general lairg. After Bacon had unfolded this philosophy man began to leave the uppec air alone and study the sur- face of the earth, and out of this philosophy came wooden rails, on which cars were drawn out of the coal mines. They found that one mole could draw four or five oars with wooden rails. Reason made them aubstltnte Iron ratla. Further thought flaally made them substitute the locomotive. The steamship began to cross the sea, the flpinnlng-jenny sprung up, the reaping-machine came, the sew- ing-machine oame. Long before this the pi^ntlng-p^ss had come. The telegraph came , But these were feeble modlflcations of the useful compared with the aofold- ingof liberty. Liberty la that form of utility which distributes happiness to the millions. Happiness was once supposed to be for the king and the royal family. They discovered that happlneis and property were to be for the millions. Then oame general edncatlon — education handed over to the millions ; and out of this Baconian philosophy there rolled the great volume of progress on tn the seven- teenth, eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
I congratulate you all upon having, reached an age in which the beautUul re- mains as only an ornament of life, and not the whole of life. That, as the vine can ornament the cottage, but cannot keep It up, cannot be a wall or rafter to It, so beauty may ornament life, but can never be the great columns nor fouudatlons upon which life rests.
SOME SUGGESTIONS FOB THE WORLD'S FAIR.
J. C. EVANS, HARLEH. (AtCUcagoHMtlng.)
To arrauge for and carry out to a eaeceesfal eDd sach an exhibi- tioD of liorticaltnral products aa shoold be made at tbe eoming Obicajio fair in 1893 ynfl involve a vast amount of combiued brain worli, as well as hard labor, and will reqaire tbe nnited and harmonioas efforts of ^be entire borticallnral interests of tbe whole country. There sbonld be DO sectional feelings, no selflab motives. All sboald strive to attain tbe one grand object — a saccessfnl showing of the products of onr whole country to the world.
To do this it is importaat that no mistakes be made in laying tbe plans and getting the proper foondation to bnild on. This I under- stand is the object of this convention, and as I cannot be present, I give herewith a few tbongbts in the hope that I may in a small way aid in laying tbe plans for the most grand ezbibition of botticnltoral pro- ducts ever seen.
Tbe Exposition management should provide a bnilding amply com- modious and especially adapted to the exhibition of all horticultural products.
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MI8CBLLA.NBOD8 PAPBB8. 105
Each State Legielatare shonld, at its next sesBion, appropriate an smODDt Bofflcient to meet all the expense of making an exhibition, and »t the same time appoint oae or more competent and responsible par- ties to take the lead and make all necessary arraageraeats for the «xhibitioQ of the prodncta of their respective states.
The Exposition management eboald not be called on to ofiFer any premiums in this department ; let the public who visit the foir decide as between states, and let the competition be between the conntiee or districts of the states, as each may elect, and the prem.iams be otTered by the management of each state and paid ont of the state appropria- tion ; a sufficient amonnt should be provided for and offered in premi- ums to insure a large atid continual display of all horticnltaral products, «nd the premiums should be so arranged, say, 1st, 2d, 3d, and so on up to 10th, loth or 20th, that a large number of counties would stand a chance of getting something and be encouraged to make a good display. Of «onTse each state management would have their own idea of a premium list.
I think premiums should be offered, first, on a general display by a «ounty or district, then on the various articles (duplicates) separately.
The respective state exhibits should be so arranged as to be read- ily distinguished one frcm the other, and be^r the name in a conspicuous place in reasonably large letters, in a neat form ; the county exhibits ahonld be arranged in like manner; while no two of either state or «ounty should be expected to look exactly alike, a ceitain amonnt of aniformity shonld be observed to make the whole harmonize. This, as well as nearly all else, will devolve on the superintendent of the de- partment, and the heads of the respective state exhibits.
ISow this whole scheme is based on the action of the Legislatures of the various states.
The object of all exhibitions is to advertise the state or particular aection ttom where the exhibition is made ; and what better opportu- nity will any state or county ever have to make known to the world their resources and capabilities than will be afforded at the coming great Columbian Worid's Fair in 1893 1
Is there, in this great galaxy of forty-four states, one that does not want to be known ! Is there one whose Legislature will refase to make ample appropriations to meet all necessary expenses in showing to the world what she isf I think not.
In any event, " whatever exhibits are made must depend on aid from tbe state, connty or district from where made," so that all this convention can do is to formulate all necessary plans for a grand show
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106 STATB HORTICUI-TDRAL SOOIETT,
of prodaetB" and trast to the business foresiglit and liberal spirit of of the Legialatnres of the variooi: states to provide for the expenses, and I believe they will all do it.
FAKMING IN PALB3STIHB.
FKAIIK O. CABPEKTIB.
The laud of milk and honey has sadly deteriorated since the days when tbe Israelites took possession of it. The cattle upon a thoasand hills have dwindled to scanty herds, and the hills themselves, which, once terraced like the cboicest lands of Italy, yielded skins of wine and tons of fmit, have been dennded of their earth by centuries of rain. 8noh milk as is sold in Jerusalem and in the various nllages of the Holy Land is made ap of a mixture from camels, goats and cows, and there are probably more cattle on th« Western Beserve in Ohio than in all Palestine.
Compared with the rich coantries of the nineteenth century, Pal- estine was never a very fertile land. The Israelites, coming out of the desert, exaggerated its virtues, and described the beauties of the country with all the exuberance of oriental imagery. It seemed to them a little world in itself, and still Palestine io not much bigger than some Texas coonties. The whole land, inclading that possessed by the Philistines and the Israelites, is not more than fifty miles wide, and, standing on the Mount of Olives, yon can see the Mediterranean od one side and the silvery Jordan on the other. A good, fast railroad train could cross it in an hour, and if there were a railroad rnuniug from the north to the south it would not take more than three hours to traverse its entire length. From Dan to Beersheba is no further than from New York to Washington, and the long journey which David made from Jerusalem to the banks of the Jordan is only foarteett miles. The Mount of Olives is only 2,700 feet high by actual measure- ment. Yon can walk np it in half an hour, or a donkey will carry you to its top in twenty miuutes. I crossed the plains of Sharon in coming from Jaffa to Jerusalem, and I found these garden-spots only twenty miles wide. I drove in a carriage from Jerusalem over the fields- where the shepherds lay and watched tbe star which marked the com- ing of Christ to Bethlehem, and the distance was only seven miles. I
HIB0KLLANB0U8 PA.PBBS. lOT
eavr Bbepherde attending their flocks on the spot There little David killed big Ooliah with hia sling, and, as I looked on my rocky sorroand- ings, it did not seem to me that the land was worth the fight. Mizpah, the little town npon the spot where the prophet anointed the former- boy Sanl king, when he was oat banting his fotber'ti asses, would not bring a bondred dollars at aaoUoo in America, and all the donkeys and BBses I saw in the conntry were so shabby and shaggy that it would take a second miracle to give them the strength to open their months and Bpeak, or even bray, at the tnrbaned Balaams who rode them.
The Palestiiie of to-day, however, is nothing like that of the past. For centuries the land has been stripped of its best men to flU the armies of the Saltan, and for ages its farmers have been ground down to the earth by tyranny, corruption and taxation. The former of Pales- tine pays taxes npon everything. If he plants a f^nit tree, he is taxed from the day the spront shoots throngh the surfoce, and the taxes of a vineyard often amonnt to more than the crop. The mle is that one- tenth of the whole crop has to be given to the Snitan ; bat this tenth U estimated while the seed is in the ground, and the collection of it is- formed oat to corrupt tax-gatberers, who get from twenty to thirty per cent of the crop instead of ten. The farmers of Palestine live in vil- lages, and the sheik or ruler of the village often acts as judge and tax- gatherer. He is responsible to the Sultan for the well-doing and tbe revenues of bis subjects. Just outside of man; of the villages there is a threshing floor, where the grain is trodden oat or flailed out as it was threshed in the days of the Scriptnres. The farmer dares not take away his grain from the floor antil the tax-gatherer has come and picked oat the Saltan's tenth, and after him tbe banker or the rich man who has loaned to the fanner has the right to take his debt and interest before the farmer can get the results of his toil. Tbe people of Pales* tine are in many cases so poor that they have to borrow money to pat in their crops. The rates charged are from ten to fifteen per cent, and the usnrerB of to-day are quite as bad as those of Bible times. In Bome cases the crops are pat in npon shares, and the rich man who owns the land fornishes tbe seed and tbe animals to till tbe crop. The former gives his labor and bis skUI, and receives one- fourth of the crop^ the owner of tbe land getting the other three-foarths and paying the taxes. The formers pay a military tax also. They pay taxes on their donkeys and other animals, and there are import and export taxes. In my wan> derings aboat Jerusalem I found a couple of Turkish soldiers at each gate, and I noted that every chicken and every head of lettuce that was carried into the city for sale paid a tax before it passed witbin the walls. I saw a farmer go in one day with a little donkey . not bigger
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108 STATE HOBTICULTUBAL SOOIBTT.
than a Kewfoundlaad do;;, loaded irith aboat a bashel of gnarled olive rootifl. These were for fael, and he expected to sell them for twentj- £ve oenta in the market tiear David's tower. He was stopped and charged three cents daty before be was permitted to pass. Thns it is with everything salable.
The Pbilistines bad, by all odds, the best lauds id Palestine. The plains of Sfaaron have been worked ever since the days of Abraham, And they prodace the richest of crops to-day. The soil is a deep brown loam, and £ found the iarmers plowing when I visited it in May. The implements naed were the same as those of the time of Christ. There was the wooden plow, with its point shod with iron and with its single handle, which the plowman held with one hand while he walked behind hie donkey or ox. He had a long goad in the other hand, to stir ap the beast, and the words of the Scripture abont the man patting his band to the plow are applicable to this. In one of the fields I saw a camel hitched to a plow, and the great, aogainly beast shambled ap and down the field with a sullen air.
Nowhere did I see any improved machinery, and I am told that there is not a threshing-machine in Palestine, tJiongh the advanced j^mer who owns the lands farther up in Syria, where Abraham &rmed, has a mower and reaper in active operation.
There are no big bank-barns in Palestine. The grain is either kept in the houses, and in some districts stowed away in tombs and caves, or packed down into boxes made of mud and dang. The hills of Pales- tine are fall of caves, and the booses of the people are little better than holes cat into the rock. Many of the villages are bnilt against the sides of a bill, so that the hill forms one side of the house, and the cattle and sheep are often kept in the same room in which the people sleep.
The food of the people is of the cheapest vuiety. Whole families live on ft-om fifty to seventy-five dollars a year, and the clothing of a village would not exhaust the stock of a country dry goods store. Only one man in twenty wears shoes, and the most common garment among the peasants is a woolen blanket of black and white stripes, made at home, and of full Turkish trousers and vest under this. The women, to a large extent, wear the blue denim, night-gown-like cos- tame which yon see in Egyt, except they do not veil their faces, unless they be Mohammedans.
Some of them are very beautiful. I foand the women of Bethle- hem among the most beautiful in the world. They seemed to be better ■off than those of other parts of Palestine, and their faces were as rosy and fresh as those of the girls of Ireland. They had beaatiful eyes.
HISOELLANBOTTS PAFBBS. lOfr
and Eaphael might hare foand a mode) for the Sietine MadoDoa ia the laod where Mary gave birth to the Christ. The shepherds of Bethle- hem are doe-looking men, and sheep are tended on the plains aboat the city to-day as they were eighteen cintnrieB ago. Many of these shep- herds wear sheepskin coats. They have their staves in their bandB^ and they drive the sheep into the folds n«ar the villages now as they did when Christ was bom. The sheep of Palestine are of the fotrtailed variety. Some of the tails, I am told, weigh as mnoh as thirty-dve poonds. Palesiine sheep are worth from three to five dollars apiece,, and a great quantity of wool is shipped from Syria and Palestine to the TJnited States. In the Valley of the Jordan and along the Dead Sea. there are many fine pastares, and abont tbiee-fonrths of a million ponnds of wool is shipped annnally from Syria. I was in Palestine jaet before the shearing-time, and I noted that the deeces weie heavy. The most of the wool is exported nnwashed, and the balk of it goes to the United States. The wool is sometimes washed after it is cat from the sheep. The washing is done by women, who are paid from eight to tea cents a day for it. Wages are low all over Palestine. Yon can get a farm-hand for twenty-tive cents a day, and he will not plead the eight- boor law, nor want a threshing-day dinner thrown in.
The plains of Sharon grow very flue wheat. If Palestine and Syria were ander a proper government, and fnrnished with good means of transportation, they might export a great deal of grain. As it is, the coat of bringing the crops to the seaboard from the interior is immense. Everything has to be carried apon camels, which are big eaters. Three basbels make a load, and for a distance of a few hundred miles the camel will eat one bnshel, and it will take another bnshel to pay bis driver, so that the shipper has only a third for bis profits, to say noth- ing of the cost of raising the three. There is now a splendid road from Jaffa, the seaport of Palestine, to Jernsalem, and there is talk of boild- ing a railroad between these two points. The distance is only forty miles,andthe twenty miles across the plains of Sharon are almost level.
After yon have passed this land of the Philistines yon begin to as- cend the hills of Jadea, and yon keep going np until, twenty miles far- ther, yon reach Jerusalem. The city covers about the space of a 320- acre farm. Walls aboat twenty-five feet high sarronnd it, and there are aboat fifty thonsand people packed inside of these walls. In going ap to the city, I was struck with the evidences of the splendid agricaltural condition of Palestine in the past. Every Mil was once terraced, and there is no donbt bnt once the whole land was a garden. Even now there are many olive groves dotting the hills, and the flow- ers bloom in every crevice. I shall never forget the poppies of Sharon.
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no STA.IE HOBTICDLTDKAL SOCIBTT.
They were aa red as blood and as big aroand ae the bottom of a tin cap. There were millione of them aud they carpeted the plains for miles. They bloomed npon the inoniitainB,aiid I picked them out of the holes in the walls upon the Via Dolorosa along which Christ was dragged to his craoifizioD. The flowers, which are seen everywhere, are the evi- deQceg of the great poBsibilities of this iand nnder proper cnltivation and freed from taxation. If any other people than the Tniks conld own it, the terraces would gradnally creep back to the hills, and the land wonld again bloom aa it did when little David kicked Qp bis heels in the fann-hoase of his father Jesse. It Is a wonderful frnit^ growing coonty. There are no finer oranges in the world than those which grow abont Jaffa. Great quantities of these are exported to Enrope.
Palestine exports a great deal of olive oil, and the Monnt of Olives bas its sides to-day covered with'tbese silvery green trees. The trees grow to a great age, aud are gnarled and knotty. A great deal of the wood is brought into Jerusalem and made into collection-plates for churches, paper-knives and other souvenirs, which are sold to tourists, and also exported in large quantities. The olive-picking is done at the same time all over the country. The people shake the trees or pick them. They sort the crop, using the best for eating, and making oil of the poorest. In some parts of the cduntry this oil is used for light- ing, and the probability is that tbe lamps of the wise and foolish vir- gins were lighted with olive oil. The making of tbe oil is of the rndest description. I visited an oil mill in Jerusalem. It consisted of a cave cut oat of a rock, in which a very tall camel and a very small donkey went round and roand in a circle, operating a mill like that which grinds the bark in a tannery. This ground the olives to a palp. Td another part of the cave there was a stone ledge about as high as a table, and into this a hole had been cut, and one of the dirtiest Arabs I have ever seen stood here with his clothes tight up about his waist, and tramped the oU out of the olive mush with his bare feet. He was perspiring profusely, and there was nothing but a linen cloth between hitn and the mush. As this cloth got wet be would pull it up, andr standing on the olives, would wring out the oil into a can on the ledge. Froln this it was poured out into pots, to be strained for- the market. The refuse of tbe oil is made into a sort of cake, and used to feed camels and cattle. It it said to be very healthful, and the animals grow fat on it.
Palestine is slowly improving in character. The Jews are coming back to the land from Europe and other parts of tbe world, and the strongest colony is that known as the Gadites, supposed to be one of
b, Cookie
MISOELLANEOnS PAPBB3. Ill
lie loBt tribes who hail from sonthern Arabia. These people are ea- g&ging in agricnltare, and I am told they make good &rmer8. The laraelitiab Alliance, consisting of the Bothachilds and other wealthy Jews, have established a namber of agrionltoral colonies in different parts of Palestine. They have model &rms in the Holy Laud. One of these is on the plains of Sharon. It contains tens of thoasanda of Tines and olive trees, and it consists of 28,000 acres. The Tarbs do not like to sell land to the Jews, and ore averse to the improvement of the conntry. The Saltan fears that he will lose Palestine if it beoomes valuable, and he woald rather see it a desert than a garden. The Oer- oians have several agricnltaral colonies in l^lestine. There is one near Jaffa, whieh is doing well. The German colonists believe it is their missioD to bring Palestine back to its former state by ciUtivatioD, and they are trying to colonize the conntry. They have already shown that it has great possibilities, and the prospects of the Holy Land have not been so bright for years as they are now. If the land coald be owned by Christians, and cnltivated nnder Christian laws and CbristiaD taxes, it might again become a Land of Milk and Honey.
KEW VAEIETIES OF FRUITS.
Mr. H. E. Van Deman, pomologist of the department of agricnl- tare, delivered an informal address upon this topic, from which we make some extracts :
Many good varieties of Plums had come, he said, from Prunu* Americana, which extends all throngh oar north and northwest regions. Among the newer varieties the Hawkeye, from Iowa, is the best. It is the largest and most beaatifnl, although it is late, ripening six weeks after the ordinary plum season. Cheney, from Minnesota, is another plnm of medium size, very early, of a deep crimson color, but not so good as the Hawkeye when it is cooked. Ludlow is flat in shape, large, prodactive and of very pleasant Qavor. Bollingstoue is small, of a pur- plish red color, handsome and well-flavored. Leduc is a very pretty, small, yellow plnm, originating in Minnesota. It is very productive and sweet, and will be valuable for a dessert fruit, Hopp is of medium size, dark, solid and very sweet. Clyman is a variety of Prw/itts domes- tioa, and is as early as the Wild Ooose, six weeks earlier than the ordi- nary plums of this class. It sets full of fruit, and wQl probably be hardy in the middle States.
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112 STATE HOBTICULTUBAL BOOIBTT.
AmoDg the Japaoeee plnma, Botaa is said to be hardy enonjcfa to ripen as tax north as Connecticot. In shape it resembles the Kelsey. OgoD is yellow, nearly roand, and as large as the Wild Goose. Kel- sey is rery large, three inches in diameter, pnrplisb, heart-shaped ; bat it will not frnit north of Tennessee. Baibauk is of medinm size, crim- son-purple in cofor, exceedingly beaatifal, rich in fiavor, and it will perhaps prove hardy in the middle Slates. Sataama is smaller than Keleey, bat as large as the common plama. It is roand, with dark red flasli and small stone. One disadvantage of all Japanese plnms is that they bloom so early their blossoms are liable to be caagbt by the frost, as in the case of the apricot. They all hold their foliage well, and this fltg them to the vicissitades of onr very trying climate.
Of the newer pears, the Erall, originating in Missoari, seems to be the best of winter pears. It snrpasses the Lawrence in qnality and color. The Idaho has not been overrated as to qnality, bat as yet we have no warrant for believing that it is superior in hardiness to many others.
Among apples, the GarUeld, originating in northern Illinois, seems to be hardy in that trying region. It is not so large as Ben Davis. It has a brilliant crimson stripe on a yellow ground, rich and handsome in appearance, and fair in qnality. Lacon is of abont the same qnality, yellowish, and its hardiness woald seem to warrant trying it in the northwest. Shirk originated in Indiana. It is very sweet and of a high color The tree is a fine grower, and it is an excellent &11 sweet apple, and hangs well on the tree. Bnllman has been widely adver- tised, bat it seems to be a synonym for the Bed Canada. The Pefier ia a seedling of Pewanfcee, and is very promising. It is of medinm size, red, white-fleshed, a natural seedling, and is very hardy. The Fonnd- ling is an old variety of New England origin, which has been strangely overlooked ontil late years. It is qaite hardy in the northern part of New England ; very pretty, with red stripes on a yellow groand, and keeps late into the winter.
Of strawberries the only new variety spoken of was Pearl, which is stud to be one of the best, with berries of good size, and held well above the ground on strong stems. It seems adapted to dilferent kinds of soils.
Among nats mention was made of many good varieties of onr wild chestnut, some of which are of excellent qnality. One named Da* pont, from Delaware, is very large. A rich tree often yielded nuts to tbe value of $30 and $50 a year.
The Paragon, which has been sent oat by Engle & Son, of Marietta, Penn., is larger yet, four or five times as large as the ordinary chest-
HIBOBLLANBOUS PAPBBS. 113
nat. It beare enormonaly and at an early age. It is not qoite so well flavored as the fioest of the small cheatoatB, bat it is of pnrel; native origin, and well worthy of caltivation.
Of the newer grapes, the Lyon, originating in Michigan, was re- ported of fine quality. The vine is very vigorons ; the clnsters are of the Cstawlia shape, although (he berries are smaller. Colrain, which is probably a seedling of the Concord, is a variety larger in bnoeh and berry than Martha, and earlier. The vine is stronger and aa healthy as the Concord.
Mr. Campbell, Id reply to the inquiry as to whether its skin was too tender for shipment, stated that it was no more tender than that of the Worden. The WoodruflF Bed baa proved itself a rampant grower and very prodactive. It is not of the finest quality, and has a rather thick 8kin, bat it is an excellent popular market variety. Green Mountain is a strong vine, very fruitfnl, and is probably the earliest white grape of good quality. It is rath*>r small in berry, however.
The Crandall currant is a variety of the Missouri currant^ and the largest of the wild varieties. It originated in Eanaas, and has the merit of being proof against the attacks of the cnrrant-worm. llTor do the leaves fall, as they do from many other varieties of oorrant, from «ome unknown fungus growth. — Garden and Fore»t.
(From the Rural World.) THE MISSOUEI VALLEY HORTICULTUBAL SOCIETY
Met at Merriam park. The day was perfect for a picnic, and those present seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly. After dinner the Society was called to order by the President, J. C. Evans. The follow- ing committees presented reports :
OBOHABDS.
Mr. Campbell, of Merriam, reported that for his orchard, although sadly neglected last year bore half a erop and this year will have more than tialf a crop. He recommended light prnning, especially for old trees, and then all on the north side.
.y Google
114 BIATB HOBTICULTUBAL SOOIBTT.
J. G. EvaDS tboDght that tbe members of tbe society ought (o b& glad to talk about their orchards this year, as the trees are full of frnit and Airther free from goager and codling moth, something that has not occaired for years.
Major Holsinger thought that it was too soon to congratulate onr- selvea on being rid of tbe apple p^sts, as he found plenty in his orchard^ especially on the early frait.
Mr. Oampbell thought that the codling moth this year has almost entirely confined itself to the Early Harvests.
L. A. Goodman has found less signs of the moth this year than, ever before.
STONE FBUITS.
Mr. Hughes, of Argentine, spoke of a new black cherry he has, which ripens at the same time as the Early Bichmond. Its flesh is firm, and the tree very prolific.
Messrs. Espenlaub and Holsinger spoke a good word for the Lieb- cherry, it being not qnite so sonr as the Morello.
SMALL FEU IT. Mr. Bees stated that he finds Mammoth Cluster, Oregg and Hop- kins raspberry all profitable. Borne years are in favor of one variety and some years another. His vines are in a ten-yesr-old orchard, and are well caltivat«d. He stated that his rines have been oat stxteeik years and he has never lost a crop.
TtHEYABDS.
Mr. Espenlaub reported grapes looking first rate ; no mildew nor rot. On the Concord the grapes on the bunches are somewhat scat- tering, but the increased size will probably make np for that.
PLOWBBB.
Mr. Goodman reported the Hybrid Perpetual roses of all kind» doing well this j ear, but thought that none of the new varieties coold take the place of some of the old varieties.
OBNITHOLOGT.
Birds were reported more destrnctive to cherries this year than ever before, especially the cedar bird or wax wing. M^or Holsiuger- wished to add the Baltimore oriole.
ENTOMOLOGY.
Major Holsinger made a report on the experiments he has been making with the mole. He finds that the mole is exclusively an inseo-
MlBOBLLANSOtIS FAPBB9. US
tivoroas animal ; it never toneheB vegetable matter. He regards tbe mole beneficial to tlie Carmer and gardeDer. Several members vigor- OQBly took the other side of the qaeetion.
BB8AY8.
Ad essay written on the sabject, " Flowers," by Mrs. J. A. Darkes, was read by Mrs. FaQnie Holsiuger.
HISCBLLlNBOna.
Messrs. GoodmsD, Campbell sod Key were appointed a committee to declare premiams on tbe &ait and flowers on the table.
They made the following report :
Best black rsspberry , Hkrvej Hngbi, 50 centa.
Best red r&Bptierr;, G. F. EspenUnb, 50 cents.
Beat HoughtoD, MiB. Bugbi, GO ceotB.
Beit Downing (SQiltbs},]Ur. HagfaB, GO cents.
Box currtDta, HrB. flugbs, GO eetiti.
Best iweet chonj, Hr. Bogbe, 60 eeots.
Best sour cberry (Ostbrlne), Ur. Hogbs. 60 cents.
Best band boquet, Hrs. Goodman, GO cents.
Best (able boquet, Hra. Eaghs, GO cents.
An obitaary committee, consistiDg of Messrs. Holsinger, G-ano and WhitP, were appointed, to report at next meeting, resolutions on the death of Col. Parks, first president of the Missouri Valley Horti* caltnral Society.
The Society adjourned to meet at the residence of M^or Hol- singer, in Boaedale, on the tliird Saturday of July.
Gbo. E. Boss, Secretary.
MY GRBENHOUaE PLANTS.
Bead before the UIseoutI ValUy Rortlcnllural Society at tbefr Jane meeting at Merrlam Park, Kan.
^Tis said that "the noblest stady of mankind is man," but from this I differ. Tbe lover of nature can'find much more of interest to occupy and elevate his mind in the observation and care of the fruits and fiowers planted and cared for by his own hand. The gieen-honse, kept for our own amusement, comes, perhaps, closer to the heart than any
116 STAIK HOBTIOULTUBAL 800IBTT.
other form of occnpation. When the icy blast sweeps down ftom the north, we can shut onrselves in onr little bower of greeuerj and forget the world withoQt, for there each plant is a friend, each new leaf and bad a joy. One plant sent by a friend who has since passed over to the land of "ever- blooming flowers," another from one who has gone to a distant home — the asBoeiations connected with many of them place their valae above price.
We are often told that a few plants well grown are better than many neglected. This is very trne, bnt the person who grows the few plants well will not neglect the many. Diversity of form is the charm of a collection. Variegated and ornamental-leaved plants shonld be nsed freely to relieve the monotony of appearance when flowers are scarce; ivy geraninms, begonias, enonymns, palms and ferns of some kinds are easily grown.
Oeraninms are especially monotonoas in appearance, but we must grow a number of them for Bummer bedding. For winter blooming, Ber. A. Atkinson (dark red) and Qaeen of Belgians (pure white) have done best, one plant of the latter bearing eighteen trasses of flowers at OQce. Prince Bismarck is a good, fancy-leaved variety, the new foliage being as ornamental as a flower. A variegated ivy geranium covering a trellis four feet high is much admired, the white variegation fre- quently turning pink in warm weather. Geraninms are easily propa* gated. I let the cuttings lie until well oallonsed, before setting.
In roses the old Agrippina does best for me. One small plant bore eight floweis and bnds at the same time. It is a dark red. Dnchess of Brabant is a good pink. Boses can be bought too cheaply to trouble oneself propagating them.
Bonvardias are winter bloomers, and not troubled by insects of any kind. They may be bad red, white and pink, single and double. Kumbotti is different in form from the others ; they are propagated . from root cuttings. I take them from the pots, shake the soil from the upper part of the root and set away where they will keep moist. In a week or two the buds will have started, when the roots can be cut ac- cordingly and planted in the open groand, to be lifted and potted in the fall.
Fuchsias are one of our most beautiful plants, easily grown and certain bloomers ; the single is the natural and most pleasing form of the flower, and possesses an airy, pendulous grace, which is lost in the double varieties. When growing they should be well pinched in ; they then start from every joint, and produce a greater abundance of flow- ers. They shonld also be well cnt back after blooming, to strengthen the main stem so that it can sustain the weight of flowers and foliage
ailSCBLLANEOUB PAPERS. 117
withoQt any other support. FachBias require a sreat amount of water when Rowing, to get tbetn to their beat. Speriosa is an old plant, bat cauDot be excelled.
For those wbo have room, the oleander makes a grand ehow, Lilian Heoderson, with its great tmeses of white, heliotrope scented flowers, is a lovely plant.
The peerless calla gives a tropical effect to a collection. It is a water plant, and should, when not at rest, have all the water it can absorb; it should be set in a eancer, which most be constantly filled. In sammer it may be bedded out ; it will rest sufflciently without com- pletely drying ap. Amaryllis is easily cared for and showy, though of short dnration. After blooming, keep them in a state of growth nntil the leaves are fully developed, then dry off gradually and set away nnder the bench. Amaryllis Johnson! is probably the best for the amateur. Tritelia is a lily-like fiower and blooms for a long while ; several can be planted in a pot.
Yellow flowers brighten the honse like snnBhine, and should not be forgotten. Coronilla glanca is a good, yellow flower, and bnt little known. Jasmine revolntum, Linum flavnm and yellow oxalis are all different in appearance and free bloomers; the oxalis is a good basket plant.
Chrysanthemams for cutting, a few of the best velvety pansies, and some violets for perfume, must all have a place.
yovelties are mostly a poor investment, being propagated to their utmost limits; the plants are always small and feeble, and fteqcently old kinds nnder a new name, the introducers going on the principle that if a rose does not smell any sweeter by another name, it will sell a great deal better.
The chief trouble in caring for a green-house lies in that name so aeefal to a woman and abhorred by the entomologist — " huge." Thrifty growth and plenty of water is half the battle. A tablespoonful of liquid ammonia to a gallon of water is a good wash for green fly. With red spider I have bad no trouble ; a moist atmosphere and water will prevent their appearance.
Tobacco is the universal remedy for green-honse pests, and is the beet place for it ; let the fire smoke it. My especial dependence for keeping plants clean and thrifty lies in soap-soads. On the weekly wash-day everythine gets a good shower and soaking. Never waste any soap-sads ; if you have more than yon need for your flower gar- den, ponr them around your rose-bushes and shrubs; in winter, on the ground yon use for flower beds ; you get the value of the soap twice over.
118 B'lATB HOBTIGULTUBAL BOCIETT.
For tbOBfi who c&nnot obtain sand for propagating, I would recom- mend old chip manaie. If there are any bit* of wood remaining in the soil sift them oat, catting root mach quicker and grow faster when stmck, if they have rich food within r«ach, than when Btrnck iu sand and depending on an ancertain quantity of water; the chips most be well decomposed. Two years since I took a boxful where the sawdust from the ice house had been thrown; the cuttings nearly all died oQ*. I took some up and found them bang with minute white worms. This year it could not be equaled for growing seedlings. For forcing cu- cambers, melons, etc., in the greenhouse, I make boses of thick brown paper or thin pasteboard, about two inches acrosu, fill a flat wooden box with tliese(match boxes are just right), fill the boxes with this sort of soil and plant two seeds to a box ; when ready to plant, lift each paste-board box with a garden trowel and set iu the ground ; there is no distarbance of the roots and no set-back in the growth, as in pot- grown plants.
The contents of an old hot-bed allowed to lie make good potting material. Plants require richer soil in pots than in the open ground, for the reason that the roots are compressed in a small space and have not the same amount to draw Bustenance from. Water and heat can- not make a strong plant, which is the reason that so many greenhouse plants when bought appear vigorous, but when bedded out come to a stand-still. If possible, have a little green-honse ; keep the plants oat of the heat and dust of the living-room. A few blooming plants can be brought in and carried back to give place to others, and the satis- &ction of having your own bedding plants and knowing they are well seasoned will pay yoa for your trouble.
BIRDS OF SOUTH AMERICA.
Paper read before the Hlgeoarl Talley Horticultural society, by Dr. Edwin U. Heath, KaDias City, Kaa.
As one enters South America everything appears new and strange. Our orchards dwindle into huertas of a few otange, lemon, mango, ali- gator pear, fraile plum, date palm, olive trees. An article on birds, to be read before a horticultural society, ought to have Bome reference to the matter nnder consideration. As there are no orchardists there as here, there can necessarily be no groand for considering the birds of that country in connection with the fmit interests, as with as. In
MiaCBLLANBODS PAPERS. 119
-tropical Ecaador, Yenezaela, the Quianaa, Brazil and Bolivia, the par. rots eat a few baiianaB, bat not enongh to annoy any one. The rice fields of Feni being flooded doriDg most of the early life of the rice plant, birds can do little or no damage. Dnring the rice harvest the little they take is not felt. Rometimes the pigeons annoy the Chilian wheat former. There are ext«nsive vineyards in Fern, Bolivia and -Chile (there is no aneb place as Uhili), bat the birds do not seem to do Any damage. On the contrary, they destroy the worms and bogs that -otherwise wonld injure the vines. There are some birds familiar to ns — the pigeon, monrning dove, heron, bittern, whippoorwiJl, pelican, king- fisher, gall, snipe, crane, dack, and many others. The swan has a -white body and black neck. I^one bat a oataralist woald recognize the blaejay in his new dress of dark brown back and red breast, bat wonld sappose it to be the robin. The nightingale whistles; the meadow-lark is silent as it soars to meet the sao in the morning.
The birds on the moantaine differ from those on the plains. The £oat-Backer family have several varieties. The whippoorwill seeks higher Hltitades than the other three species that articolate sentences. The most common of the three sits near yoar door, and dies and ■alights three or fonr yards before yoa as yoa walk along the road or path, crying '* Who-are-yoa, wbo-who who-are-yoa." Another bids yoa ■" Work-away, work work-work-away." A third cries moarnfnlly "Wil- lie-come.go, Willie- WUlie-Willie*come-go." They are foand near herds of cattle, and perform the same offices for the herds at night that the «ow blackbird does by day. Except for the cow blackbird and the goat-socker, cattle wonld soon become extinct, eaten np by the grab of the cestras tiy.
There are many varieties of blackbird; one jet black, a very fine singer, is a common pet ; another wilh yellow markings, the tordo- ^Hfichi of the natives, or marsh blackbird, is also a fine singei and domesticated. The woodpecker is kuown as the " carpenter." Besides the two bright-colored woodpeckers, there is one with plamage of a mottted-gray, only foand in Pera.
On the Andes, from Fern to Chile, there are a few gronse. On the Chilian Andes there is a monntain dack called Pato de la Oordillera. It &eqaeuts streams that have many rapids and fiiUs, and yoa can hear them tar off. Their play is to ride down the falls and rapids and then harry back as fast as possible, as children do in sliding down hill, and their deafening clatter coald easily be anderstood as talk and laughter over their fuu. 80 intent do they become in their play, sailing down falls ten or fifteen feet high and returning for another plnnge, that they «an easily be approached.
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120 STATE HOBTICULTDBAL SOOIBTY.
There ia a beautiiiil little wren foaud on the west coast from Perv to Chile, called the "eeven color" — Regulus omnieolor. Its crest pro- jects behind the bead and is formed of three latere of feathers ; the lower one is yellow ; the middle ooe brown; upon this, at the back part^ is a layer of bright red. The sides of the head and neck are blae, throat white, the back golden like the golden haes of the humming-bird ; the breast, ander sarfaee and sides of the body are yellow, except under the wings, where a double line of brown marks it, as monntaiDS- are represented on maps ; the tail qaill-featbers are dark brown above and white beneath ; the small feathers at the junction of the tail with the body are red beneath and golden green above; the quill wiag- featbers are a dark brown ; where the qaill and wiog covers join is a band of yellow, and the under snrfaoe of the wing is also yellow ; the edge of the wing has alternate white and dark-browu feathers. The nest, built on the side of a rush stalk, is as pretty ae the bird. The rail and water-hen are its companions. One variety of water-hen has the part of the body behind the legs and the thighs spotted white.
In Chile there is a dock that looks as if it had been evoluted &om a rail, a water-ben and a duck ; its toes have flat projections, but are- Dot joined by the web; its color is a blnieh-blaok, the outer qaill- featbers white.
Occasionally one flnds on the west coasta little bird with two very- long, sJim, delioite tail feaLhers. Some are white, others gray. The body is about one-fifth the length of the tail, and its name is about a» long as the tail — Sylviorthorkifmkus desmurii. There is a small red- breasted bird, with female dark brown on the back, that has s geo- graphical range from Mexico to Chile. It is believed by the natives to- be unfoithfnl to its marital vows, and is called Putilla (little prostitute). The "roaes" of that country wear charms, of which the ashes of this- little bird form an ingredient. A little cross, a wish-bone, a bit of mag- netic stone and some red medicinal beans carried iu a little sack on the- breast "form a charm that virtue cannot resist."
While at a rubber camp on the Madeira river in Brazil we beard the Indians speak of an "organ bird." They said its song imitated well the tones of an oigan. One day while hunting for birds we heard, just at our elbow, the natural scale run downward from 0 to 0. Erery note was clear, distinct and very musical. We watched carefully for the bird, it seemed so near. The foliage there is dense, and while part- ing the branches where we had heard the bird, it bad hopped away a little distance. Keeping quiet a moment, its song was again heard a little further away, and then a small bird, grayish in color, fiew out of the bush. When we told the Indians what we had heard and eeen»
MlBOELLAHBOnS FAPEBS. 121
Uiey said it was the organ bird. Oftea afterward we heard the sweety organ tones, bnt did not succeed in getting a specimea of the bird.
As yon Talk in the forests of the Amazon, admiring the begonias, the calas, the leaf-out, the flitting here and there of the large bine bat- terfly, yoa find yonrself mentally exclaiming, how beantifal 1 A little bird, as if placed there to gaard these beanties, and a trne interpreter of yonr thonghts, keeps singing si puea. n pues (Spanish for ''certainly.") Of all the birds that articnlate sentences or send forth notes similar to what we hear from other sonrces, the Oampanero^ or bell bird, is the most wonderfal. It is found in Brazil and the Onianoa. It is as white as snow, and about the size of onr blnejay. On its forehead rises a spiral tnbe nearly three inches long; this to be is jet black, dotted all over with small white feathers ; it has a commnnication with the palate, and when fllled with air looks like a spire, when empty it is pendnloas. Its note is clear and lond, like the sound of a beU,and may be beard a distance of three miles. The natnralist, Waterton, speaking of tbis bird, says: "In the midst of extensive wilds, generally on the dried top of an aged mora, almost out of gnn reach, yoa will see the oampanero. "So sound or song from uny of the winged Inhabitants of the forest, not even the clearly pronounced "Whip-poor-will" of the gost-sncker, causes such astonishment as the toll of the bell-bjrd. With many of the feathered race, it pays a common tribute of a morning and evening song ; and even when the meridian snn has shut in silence the months of the whole animated nature, the e&mpanero stitl cheers t^e forest Yon hear his toll, then a pause of a minnte, then another toll, and then a pause again, and then a toll, and again a pause ; then he is silent six or eigfat minntes, and the toll is repeated. Orpheus himself would drop his lote to listen to him, so sweet, so novel and romantic is the toll of the ■now-white campaoero." It belongs to the cotingas, of which there are several varieties. The scarlet cotinga has a crown of flaming red ^ to this abruptly succeeds a dark shining brown, reaching half way down the back; the remainder of the back, the rump and tail — the ex- tremity of which IS edged with black — are a lively red ; the belly is a somewhat lighter red ; the breast reddish black ; the wings are brown. There is a purple cotinga with browu markings, and a pompadour co- tinga. entirely purple, except its wings, which are white, their first four feathers tipped with browu ; the great coverts of the wings are stiff, narrow and potuted, being shaped qnite different from those of any other bird. When this bird is betwixt you and the sun in his flight, be appears uncommonly brilliant.
On the plains of Brazil and Bolivia the beautiful cardinal bird is «ommon. It is easily domesticated, and when an extra fine singer is
122 BTATB BOETICULTDRA.L SOCIETY.
Talced at from t25 to $100. While io Bolivia we had sis cardina], nine tordocurichlB, eighteen jet blackbirds, a greeo talking parrot, two bine parrotH, a night-bird that slept all day, two macaws, a number of paro- -qnetB and "love-birds," and a hnmp-backed jacamar, called corcovado, or midnight' bird, as it is prompt with its cry at midnight. All these were captared near the little town of Beges, where we resided a year «Qd a half. They were not caged long, being easily tamed. The macaws were jesloas of any attention paid to the other birds or pets. When we lay in oar hammock or sat ontdoors,the birds wonld perch on oar shoulders, oar lap, our head and beard. Then the macaws wonld scold and harry to drive tbem away. The corcovado is shaped like a Oninea hen, and Is the size of a small tarkey. It is very rapid in its Tun, seldom flying. Its home is in the dense forests of the Amazon valley, together with sev^al varieties of mutune, or wild turkeys. Oar corcovado was quite tame, and would come up to have its head scratched, bnt would reseut any greater &miliarity. Its cry was a who op-whoop- whoop- who op, made by drawing in its breath. When the Inngs were inflated the air was let out with a barr-r-r-r. When the •church bells called the faithful to mass, he would start on a ran, pass up and take bis stand before the pulpit, and stand there quietly perched OQ one foot, apparently in deep devotion or asleep. As soon as the priest would begin services, the corco<rado wonld respond whoop- whoop-whoop, burr-r-r. He also would make responses to the chantB of the choir. When mass was over he woald walk out solemnly, like any other good Christian.
On the marshy plains of Bolivia and other parts of the Amazon basin, immense numbers of white cranes, snipes, curlews, spoon-bills, soarlet flamingos and ducks are found. The radial wing-bone famishes the material for the Indian flutes. In the forests the wild turkeys, where man and his gun have not frightened them, are as tame as bam- jard fowls. On the sand-bars are flocks of galls. Perching on the branches overhanging the streams are flocks of ciganas; they are a species of kingfisher and the size of a Guinea hen. In the forests of the Amazon basin the parrot tribe, from the macaw to the love-bird, in many colors and sizes, abounds. On the higher plains of Ecuador the humming-bird is found in its greatest variety and abundance. The beantifal scarletrcrested "cock of the rock " and golden pheasant fre- ■qnent the mountain regions about the equator.
Nature sometimes appears to create monstrosities. A bird with a bill as lung as its body and nearly as large, called the toucan, is a good representative of this class. Upon the trees where the hanging nests ■are namerous yon will see the toucan. You will see it alight on ik
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_)'
.,le
HISOBIXUTKOns FAFmMB. 123
blanch Dear a nest, dip down ioto it, pick ap an egg, toBB it ia the air, catch it in its throat as it falls, while the ovaers of the nest fly aboat scolding and lameDting. At one time we had a tame one and fed it on eggs and bauanaB. All its food was tossed in the air and caaght as it fell.
TJpnn the plains of Bolivia and the Argentine repnblic the rhea, or Bonth American ostrich, makes its home. Near Meudoza, in the Argentine republic, are several ostrich farms. In Beges there was a tame one that went abont at will. The children played with it. Daily it came for food to the plnces where it was fed. We used to amuse onreelves seeing whole bananas pass down its long neck. It stood five feet from crown of head to the ground. The eggs are ased for food, but are not as agreeable as other kinds, being strong in taste.
The condor, or " king of the vnltnree," is a bird of Sonth America, and a veritable monarch among the feathered tribe and its species. When be approaches, the bnzzards retire. While he dines they form a circle aronnd him at respectfnl distance and await bis permission to join the feast. They attain a spread of wing of fifteen and eighteen feet. Their home is among the monntains, bat tbey keep a close snper- viBioD over the plains. One accustomed to look for them can see them almost any time, a mere speck in the sky, only recognizable by its mov- ing. At an elevation of 10,000 and 18,000 feet yon still see him above, around and below you. On the passes of the Andes, where cattle are smuggled from the Argentine plains into Chile, they sit on neariy every orag about the dangerous places, where the heaps of bones tell how often he has fed on the nnfortanate victims of misplaced footsteps. The; are great gluttons, and gorge themselves when they can. Bising heavily, they have to make a run or a series of springe to gain mo- mentam in order to rise in the air. They are easily lassoed or killed with a clnb by building a stockade about the carcass placed for bait. Tbey cannot rise, and so are often taken alive. They will not attack nntil the prey is either dead or helpless.
In 1870 one of the carriers of mful between Chile and the Argen- tine republic slipped and injured bis legs so that he could not walk. He had not lain in the place he fell many hours ere he had a circle of -condors about him, and outside of them a second circle of liuzzards. While awake the condors would walk about, appeireutly conversing with «aoh other over the best means to dispatch the unfortunate one. When exhausted by long vigil or quiet a moment, one would step up and give him a nip which would arouse him, and by a good use of his staff they ironld retire. What must have been his thonghts as he kept his lonely watch for four days and nights I When found, he was wanting an eye*
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124 STATE HOBTIOULTUEAL 800IBT7.
part of a cheek, a finger, and had many braises. ^ ot always are they as fortQDate as he. It needs no words to tell the horror of snch a scene. Sometimes the natnralist meets with annoyances. One day, re- tnrning with a goodly namber of birds, we sat down to skin them. The lady of the hoase also sab down beside ns, and we kept np s lively and pleasant cooversation, which she broke with the remark: "There* now, I have helped yon so mach." And so she had. She bad placked them of every feather and pin-feather as clean as the most fastidioaa honsewife could have wished a fowl pincked for cooking.
HOW BEST TO MARKET FRUITS.
Captain E. T. Holliater, of St. Louis, Mo., in a paper on " How Can Fruit Growers Beat Maintain Prices of their Frodncte," read before the Alton Southern Illinois Horticultaral Society, at Upper Alton, recently, said :
When you have gone throagh the process of planting and cultivat- ing, and the reward of your labor is seen in the bountiful crop, then cornea the problem of how to pack and where to send to best maintain prices. If in the Arat inatance it is absolutely neoessary to produce the best grade of fruit, much more ao now to secure the best reanlts. After the long and constant care to eecure aome of your crops (seven years for peaches), neglect, inattention, or
WANT OF SKILL IN PACKING,
Is &tal to both man and fruit. Some kuowing person has said a good thing which all may not have heard, " Honesty is the best policy." As a codicil I will repeat another wise one's saying, " If yoa can't be honest, be as honest as yon can." I knew that much unjoBt criticism has been passed on the fruit-grower, and more than often a single box of straw- berries has become the text for insult. Would it do any good for the critic to become producer t It is a self evident fact that the fruit and packing should be of the best character. Your product comes in com- petition, not only with your neighbors, but from many points South and elsewhere, and, as a matter of courae, the beat fiuda the ready sale and best price. Some years since I had occasion to ask a fmit-grower, why his peaches showed so mach and good color t They were packed in third-bushel boxes. He said in packing he was only following nature ; that he found the best and highest colored fruit around on the outside
M1SCBLLA.NB0US PAPERS. ]2S
-of the tree. There vere no windfalls or trash inside, however, as in another instance, which, npon inspection, proved to be so ontraji;eon8l7 packed, the owner never called for his money. Sot one in a bandred «aD bring frait, snob as berries, in a wagon withoot springs, jet I have known one to do so many times, and hie frait was in good shape, and reached market nniformlj and in the best condition. It is needless for me to say anything as regards
THE PA0KA6B TO USB.
So far as small frnits are concerned, the sixteen-qnart case has been most extensively used with satisfaction. The one fanlt common is the scantiness of tacks in putting the qoarls together, and so with the asaal rough handling in transportation, the upper tier is apt to break down. An extra tack or two will remedy this, and go fbr to make j^ood sales. Of conrae your cases and quarts will be new, bright and «lean, and the top never be fastened with light or temporary nails. Should yon be so fortunate as to have good local markets, your fruits should be fairly and evenly ripened; if for a distant shipment, straw- berries colored in part are firmer and will color in transit.
My experience has made me set the highest valne on the Dacbesa pear packed in barrels. In planting more I would not take them on the qnioce stock, only so as to secure earlier bearing and to plant alternately with standards. My reason is that in a few years' growth they become top-heavy and are freqaenOy blown and broken off at the root; while the pear stocks keep tbem firmly in their places and eveutnally carry more fruit. I suggest to the pear-grower the "Keiffer" as one that, properly handled, will he profitable to plant. It ripens, or rather is well colored, and ready to take after all other pears in this section are gone. And here, a word to the wise :
FINDIHCi A MABKBT.
The question now will be where to find such a market as will best maintaiu prices. With tbis comes the problem of transportation, which must be taken into acconnt. The individual shipper is at the mercy of the railroad and express companies, who, witbont fear, favor or affec- tion, for a ten to twelve hours' transit, take not leas than twenty cases oat of one hundred of berries for thefr portion, while the commission man takes ten more. Yoa can then see what is left for you to pay for packages, picking and cultivation. The fruit-grower has no subsidy to relieve him, do protection from the extortionate freight charges, and often no relief for damage while in their charge. Can the frai1>growers here combine in their shipments to secure lowest rates f California
126 STATE HOBTIODLTUEAL 80CIBTT.
has long practiced this ; wlthoat it they could not live. Cobden growers and others have operated od the plan with satisibctor; resnltfl. I simply make the snggestioB that some practical plan may he discnssed and adopted. I think the times are ripe for some sach movement. We have a great river at onr door; there are good boats ranning on schednle time, which may reach some markets in tbirty^six boors. Hy experience in this was most sattsfaotory. My berries would arrive ia that length of time in better condition than by rail in twelve hours. I always patronized the boats finely ; never had bnt one detention of cousequence. The ft-ee circulation of air, with the Bmoothuess of mo* tion, makes the advantages of this route Holf-apparent.
STYLE OF OUSTOHEBS.
It will be wpll for the shipper to occasionally follow his ftuit^note its condition on arrival, and see what and how others are sending. Buch an object lesson will prove well worth the time and expense. Another point he will make by snch' a trip is to see the market and style of customers at the different places. Some will take one grade or class of fruit, another a different, perhaps better grade ; snob per- sonal knowledge will be of great benefit, and is eeaeutial to succeea in this business. By knowing the character of your market, you can discriminate as to quality, not daring to send to the one what would readily move in the other. I always have two grades to ship, and one I reject, which may in part find use in the family.
This personal observation at the end of the route will go &r to explfun some of the reports of the commission men. Occasionally I have been made ashamed to see some of my apples, knowing my instrnctions as to the packing had been positive and to select close. I have about come to the conclusion that human nature has fallen below what it was, and instructions to help now need more than the simple "go and hegoeth, do tbis and he doeth it." In order to know bow th& packing of f^uit has been done, I adopted the plan of marking each package with a number or initial, keeping a record and notifying oo&. signee.
The fruit-grower has at times some fancy berries, peaches, etc. j these have found highest prices in tlie large cities, such as Chicago or Kansas City. My best price on such was one dollar per basket for peaches in the latter place, and early in the season as good prices there on asparagus as at Chicago. For your shipment select good commis* sion men in a few markets, keep in constant communication with them, use the wire freely, send them the best and in the best shape, and they will have your fruit to arrive in good condition.
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MISOBLLAKKOUS PAPBHS. 12T
WBUB IT POSSIBLE
To dispose of oar products in local and n«ar markets, withoat tlie mid- dle-tnan, or if bajera conid be induced to come, these methods woald prove very aatis&ctory. We cannot wait for the bayers to come, nor will local and near maj-kets lake all oar frait; the altemative is to trast yonr^ait to the tender mercies of the railroad and the commission man ; in fact mnch of it is all trast and little or no pay. That there are dishonest commission men we all know by experience; this shoalct make as wiser and stick to the true and tried ones. The producer i& at the bottom of the ladder; his efforts to aseendare met step by step with ditBcalties, unfavorable weather in planting, grov ing or harvests ing, insect enemies, predaceoas birds, high and oft«n exorbitant heights, with many other hindrances, too nameroos to mention. There is no royal road here, yet success lies at the top of the ladder. There will be fonnd f^nit of the very best qnality, the packing will be beyond criticism, and the reward (which may not be of large money valae) sat- ifl&otiOQ born of snccees and a desire to accomplish better resnlts in the fbtnre. The good time is ooming if we work for it. Bight along- side of personal work, and often dear-bongbt experience, is the best information to be had by becoming a member of Ibis and the State Society. The proceedings are published near the beginning of each year. The last volume is fiiU of horticaltoral knowledge and is itself a library.
A VISIT TO JUDGE SAMUEL MILLEB.
Editok Rdbal World — Aboat the middle of Jane I had a week's leisure time for recreation and pleaanre. I availed myself of a kind in- vitation to visit Judge Samuel Miller and 6imily, of BlnfiFton, Mo. As St. Charles and that place are both on the Misaoari river, I boarded the stsanch steamer Helena and landed twenty-foar boors later at des- tination, where I was most cordially received by the Judge and his most estimable wife and their &mily. I owe them all sincerest thanks for kind hospitality and ftlendsbip extended daring my three days' stay among them. To the Judge I am under lasting obligations for advanced and many new ideas appertaining to horticnltnre, derived from conver- aation and practical demonstration. Any person who feels the least
128 BTATB HOBTICULTUBAL SOCIETY.
interest in these matters can spend no time in the company of friend Miller withont being benefited and witboat inoreasin; his knowledfie regarding them; knowledge gained by him daring a long life devoted to hiB cnlling, mach throngh the costly school of experience, is by him generonsly imparted to all fOr the asking. Ko " hiding of light " here. Let all men emnlate Mr. Miller for the benefit of mankind.
To properly meation all I saw daring my visit wonld occupy for too mach of year valaable space, hence will mention only a few objects. The strawberry seems to befriend Miller's favorite fruit, and his collec- tion is certainly extensive and very interesting. I had the pleasnre of «eeing and tasting quite a number of new and old sorts. Of the former I will name the " Ladies' Pine," of which a few straggling specimens were yet on the vines and the flavor of which was exquisite. It seemed to fill every crevice of the month with its delicate «>ceQt and perfume. While it wonld hardly pay to grow this berry for the money that is in it, it is highly worthy s place for the merit that it cont^ns. Among the newer sorts I was favorably impressed with "Schnell's Late," a variety prodnced by Mr. Henry Sehnell, of Glasgow, Mo. The vine and frait closely resemble the Crescent; it also appears as prodactive, while ita season of matarity is very late, filling, I think, the gap that nsoally occurs between the last picking of this fruit and the raspberry.
An iDteresting feature is a long row of new kinds, mostly sent the Judge for trial ; every few feet another kind, with sufficient space be- tween to prevent mixing, some with no fTait remaining, others with a few straggling berries, again others just in their prime, still another Just turning color, while one is just in full blossom, promising berries at their best on July 4tb and later. The report on these will be inter- esting reading indeed when the Judge gets ready to make it.
The soil of Bluff .on appears specially adapted to tbtj development of the strawberry. I noticed no unusual culture or care bestowed on the beds, and notwithstanding only the tailings of the crop remained, all the berries were perfect in sbape and no button-shaped nubbins, so eommon at that period of the season. I saw Capt. Jacks on plants which I sent in April last as perfect in shape, color and flavor, if not fully the size, as I ever met on beds in their full prime. Where such "Jacks" grow, there is no need to look for better to take their place while tbey last. Well may the Judge be proud to be the first to intro- duce this sort ; it fully jastifles all he ever said of it when first brought oat.
The aseori.ment of apples, pears, peaches, cherries, plums, grapes, raspberries, etc., old aud new sorts, is very large and interesting. But to speak of all 'would lead beyond allowance; will, however, mention
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MISCELLANEOUS FAPEBS. 129
one item. I had freqnently wondered that friend Miller Bbonld recommend Scbselfer's Colossal as the best red raspberry. With me and wherever else I met with this kind it was rank in growth, beyond con- trol almost, hardly productive or firm enough for market purposes, and not nearly the equal in (jDality of fi-nit of most otbers. After seeing his hedge, which showed nice (not overgrown) growth, with canes loaded down with large, perfect berries, some jaat turning color, while some were blooming, I don't wonder any more. Of the quality attained by this berry at) BlnfTton I could not judge, they not being ripe.
Another item or two and I'll quit for fear of the W. B. On a monntain just east of friend Miller's place, five handred feet above the river, lives his eldest son Bobert. A most beautiful place it is, afford* ing a view of the pictnresqne county for miles away. Here were grow- ing in luxuriant health and vigor, besides apple, pear and peach trees, grape-vines, etc., a number of Maaard cherry trees, loaded wonderfully with fruit, some trees earlier, some just ripe, others beginning to ripen^ some jet black, others deep parplisfa red, and another light red in color. The flavor was sweet, with a very pleasant spicy twinge. In my esti- mation this cherry is preferable to our black Murello, and the trees as seen here were certainly as hardy and more productive. Seldom, if ever, have I met this cherry of the size and quality like here. If these are new kinds, why not propagate and introduce them, friend Millert In climbing tbe hills aronnd this place I admire the agility and "springiness" of a man of three score and ten, but in another way has the Judge retained the vivacity or capacity of youtb. I do believe he enjoys a mess of ripe frait as much as any youtb in his teens. To see the old man sit down in the shade of a tree with a dish of cherries be- fore him, and notice the enjoyment he gets out of it, is a feast in itself. Verily the pleasures offered man by Pomona do not grow old with those who worship at her shrine.
I must not close, however, without mention of the excellent and extensive collection of roses and chrysanthemums which I saw in the nicely arranged and neatly kept flower garden near the bouse. Tbe former show their charms to some extent, and were beautiful, indeed. Tbe latter were not yet in bloom, but the list of varieties was assurance of a grand display when their time comes. This department I under* stood was under immediate care of tbe charming and accomplished daughters who grace tbe household of our esteemed friend. Kespect fully,
C. T. Mallimckrodt. St. Charles, Mo., July 29, 1890.
H 11—9
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IJtO STATE HOBTICDLTUBJiL SOCIBTT.
HOETIOULTURAL MEETING. From the Kural World.
Greene Ooanty Horticaltural Society held their Joly meeting at the hoiiHe of their secretary, Mr. Holiuan. The day was fair and the attendance good.
After dinner upon the lawn, President Hot)kin8 called the society to order and proceeded to interview the standing committees, who re- ported
0BCHA.BD8 In good healthy growth, and showing better outlook for a crop than reported at last meeting. As the apples grow the quantity is better in sight and more satis&otory, Ben Davis showing most frait. A few large, red-cheek peaches were picked from trees near the table, but as a rule that delicious finit failed in oar county this year. Pears are also scarce.
TINBTARDB.
Most varieties in use set ttait freely. Concord and a few others are rather thin in the cluster, but growing nicely, with very little rot ; promise good size in berry. Committee recommends early bagging as only surety against fungus, bees and birds.
SMALL FRUITS.
Mr. Tullis said after a few years' experience with small fruits, he now wishes be had planted more blackberries ; be had not made straw- berries pay him.
Mr. Wade, of Republic, had grown this year more strawberries than he could market at remunerative prices, and though he and hie brother bad left 100 bushels unpicked upon their gronnds becanse of low prices that would not pay, he was yet hopeful of profit from straw- berry growing in the future; thooght growers needed organization to procure better rates in transportation, and practice more system in both harvesting and marketing.
Messrs. Hopkins and Davis had done fairly well, but had not realized as satisfactorily as last year. The varieties most in favor with growers at present are, in strawberries, Bnbacb No. 5, Cumberland T., and Windsor Chief; Hopkins raspberry, and of blackberries, West- ern Triumph, Missouri Mammoth and Kittatiuny.
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HISCELI.A.ITB0n8 FAPBBS. 131
FLOWBBS
Had beeo abandant and beuatlfal, bat hot dry weather had cansed a rest to the roses especially, and rain was wanted to revive even best bloomers. Old, tried H. P. S. were atill ia favor, and so with month- lies. Borne of the old are aa good as the best.
TBQETABLE8. Early vegetables mataring before dry weather came had aacceeded well. Potatoes not so large as nenal, bnt of excellent quality.
AwardlDg committee give premlamon best collsotloti bl&okberrleB, eeveo varie- ties, tfaowQ bj UopklDB & Davis, $2.
For best qaart Rlttationy, O. W. Hopkins, 26 mdIb.
For best qaatt dewbeiTT, Q. B. Davis, 25 cents.
Fos best quart red raspberry, Q. B. Davis, 35 cents.
For best basket out flowers, Miss Emma Kircbgraber, SO cents.
For best colleotton balsams, Ulss Blanchfe Lair, 50 cents.
Committee make special mention of fine cabbage head hj Y. P. Elrohgraber ; sample fruit, wood and foliage of Bonanza b. C. raspberrr, by W. C. Freeman.
A new and IntereijtiDg blackberry toand upon tbe grounds of D. S. Holmaniit Is of fair size, sweet and unlike all otbers In color — pinkish, or nearly red — worthy of watching.
Upon iDvitation the Society decide to meet the second Satnrday in Aagnst apon tbe Dmry college campus.
Bill of $1.10 was presented by Bpripgdeld Daily Republican for pabliahiDg notice of this meeting, which was allowed and ordered paid,
Tbe president, by request, promised for next meeting a paper apon the "Press in Horticnlture."
WHAT CAN WOMEN DO IN HORTIOULTUEET
BY Mies EMMA LIKDSKT, SPRIsaFISLD.
What can women do in horticnltare f Why, do as tbey have done in the three hnndred and forty other occupations into which they have fought their way through prejudice and universal manly sneers — make a snccesB of it, of course. Not that all women succeed in business, bat given the same opportunities, she is a little more certain to make a success of it than a man, simply because no woman ever leaves the shelter of her home and goes out to fight life's battles auless com- pelled thereto by the needs of herself and family, and feeling that
1S2 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL SOGIBTY.
Deed, she works with a more determiDed will, with more vim and energy. The average woman works as though she was patting oat fire. A man goes along leisarely and takes his ease, ofteu spendiufr more time getting ready to do a thing than a woman woald in doine it. I don't say it is the best way, bat it is woman's way. If she has any- thing to do, she flies at it and does it — not because she likes to work, for the average woman don't^ but from a sense of duty.
There is a vast amount of trash afloat about women considering men out of their places, but the men bare no call to be uneasy. Let them retaliate. There are the bakery and laundry ; they are welcome to both, but we want the professions, horticalture, flower raising and kindred trades.
But as this society wants facts, and not sentiment, I will try to show yoa a few things she has accomplished. A woman forty-three years of age, living in South Carolina, has followed the plow and engaged in all other farm labor for thirty years. She has dug one well, built five chimneys, and frequently split one hundred rails a day. She has a good home, enjoys excellent health, is sending her children to school regnlarly, and keeps a husband simply for ornament and entertainment.
One of the largest land-owners in the world is Mrs. Emma £. For- syth. She has a plantation of 150,000 acres on an island near New Gninea, and employs over five hundred people on it. Mrs. Miller, a widow living near Fort Niobrara, Nebraska, has a claim on which she raised with her own bauds iu one year, three huodred bosheU of pota- toes, fifty bashels of corn, three hundred beads of cabbage, twenty bushels of turnips, fifteen bushels of beets, five bushels of peas and two barrels of sorgbnm, besides fattening two hoga and feeding her large fomily of small children f^om the products of her land.
A stock company known as the Eoglewood & Los Angeles Floral company, composed entirely of women, has been organized at Los Angeles, Cal., for the cultivation and sale of flowers, ornamental trees, shrubs, ferns and plants. The capital stock is $50,000, divided into 10,000 shares of $5.00 each.
Mrs. Ingalls, of San Jose, Cal., owns a frait farm of 12 acres. She has the sole management of it and gives her trees the most careful caltivaijon. Her crop has sometimes yielded her as much as $4,000 a year.
Mrs. Alzewth produced near Manatee, in Florida, the first coff'ee ever grown' in the United Slates. She has 20 trees ou her plantation, and has saccessfully demonstrated that under proper cultivation, coffee may be grown in the latitude of Florida.
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MISOBLIAnBOUS PAPERS. 133
Jennie Jane, in her trip to California, speaks of a voman who owna a frnit form of several hundred acres, and says the other day she wrote: " We are jnst now trying to decide on the colors of the fine new wagon which is to carry oar frnit to market. Shall It be gray and crimson, or brown and canary t The beantiful fhiit mnat have a beaatifnl medinm of transfer."
"Jnst like a woman," I hear the men say, but be atill, my brothers, and |1iaten to this. There are sistytwo thooaand women in America engaged in the cnltivation of frnit, and among tbem are some of the most BQCcessfal orchardists of the nation.
The story of the Ifew Jersey mother who eent two boya to college "With the receipts of her strawberry bed is too well known to be reported. Bnt a woman in yew York bears off the palm for one snmmer's work. She was left a widow with a small farm heavily mortgaged. The laud was badly run down, bnt she observed that the only thing that thrived was raspberry bnshes. She took Nature's hint and planted ont five acres with choice catlings. The second snminer they were laden with fruit. She hired women and girls to pick the frnit, used great care to pack it iu an attractive way and sent it to market the same day. At tiie close of the season she found her poor sandy farm had netted her $1,500.
>Iis8 &.u6tin, the owner of Hedgewood vineyard, was the first to etart raisin onlture in GaUfornia. She was formerly a school teacher, now the proprielress of a thriving fruit ftirm. Her raisins are pro- duced from sweet muscats, and she markets about 50,000 pounds an- nnally.
California raising are notv considered the best in the market, and the iudastry is growing rapidly. In the year 1880 there were 'shipped 860,000 boxes, in 1S8B, 1,640,000 boxes, representing nearly 33,000,000 pounds. It is estimated that the average returns amonnt to $264 per acre.
When first assigned this subject I thought it rather a knotty pro- blem, for the most of woman's work in horticulture is by the very na- ture of the case, never counted. The many hours she toils in fruit house or berry patch while her basband is off selling his fhiit, is as a general thing a minus quantity. The business is Mr. Smith's, he being "one of the foremost" horticulturists in the county, and she, albeit she works just as hard, is only a helper. But in the case of old maids and widows, there is some chance of being counted what yon are worth.
Judging by the reports of the Slate society, one would think there were no women engaged in horticulture in this State. With the excep- tion of an occasional essay or committee on flowers, they are almost entirely ignored.
184 BTATB EOBTTOULTUBAI. SOOIBTT.
If the horUcnltural soeielj of Misaoari wishes to prosper and fill tbe honored poeitioo in this magnificent State that it is entitled to, they mnet vake np and advance all along the line. It is noase, my brothers, to try to longer hold woman in the little, narrow sphere in which prejn- dice and ignorance have placed her.
Miss Willard says, " Woman is surely coming to her kingdom," uid Miss Willard knows, for she lives upon the waich-tower and cud see the beckoning hand of fiite calling to the dangtaters of this nation to arise and occapy their half of the land.
I paid a dollar once to become a member of the State society, and for several months i laid the " flattering nnotion to my soal," (hat thOQgh only a poor connlry girl, I was, nevertheless, a member of the Horticnltnral society of the great State of Missonri. Imagine my feel- ings, when one day meeting yonr good Secretary, be handed me a doV lar, Baying women conid not join by the payment of the regular fee. I went home and read thnconstitntion and felt that it said, if not inword^ at least in spirit, '-no woman need apply."
SOME STRANGE PLANTS.
The Government has been going quite extensively of late into the propagation of whisky shops and lager-beer saloons. Its laboratory employed for this purpose is the National Botanical garden here ; for the lager-beer saloons and whisky-shops referred to are purely of a vegetable nature. They are. in fact, nothing more nor less than plants of a very extraordinary description, which devote their attention ex- clusively to the manufacture and sale of intoxicants. A reporter learned that attention is being given to an investigation of their manner of doing business and to analyses of the liquor they dispense, which is expected to have very important and useful resalta, opening up a line of inquiry in an altogether new direction.
The vegetable whisky-shop ia perhaps the most astonishing plant in existence. A number of members of Ite femily are represented in the green-houses of the botanical garden. Each one does busioesB on its own hook, and most of them sell different brands of liquor, that supplied to customers at one shop being unlike what is offered at another. This does not appear snrprising when it is considered that every vegetable whisky-shop does its own distilling.
.y Google
MI8CBLLANK0US PAFBBEi. 135
GBKBROnS BABS.
Yoa wonid be strack at oace witli the carionB appearance of one of these vegetable whJsky-ebops if yoa saw it standing in a big flower- pot, carrying on the end of each of ite long green leaves a pitcher- shaped receptable. If the plant is open for bnsinees you can look into the pitchera and find them to contain qoite a qaantity of watery-looking liqnor. This is the intoxicant wfaioh is offered to caetomcra, each one being permitted to help himself to as much ae he likee for the stipa- lated and invariable price. Maybe you will find the pitchers all shut np, for each pitcher has a cover that shots down whenever any rain or dew is falling to prevent the liqnor l^om becoming diluted.
Now, the customers spoken of are insects of all sorts — snch as blue-bottle tlies, mosquitoes, cock roaches, red ants and so on. There is not a bug of any sort, apparently, that has not a weakness for the liqnor supplied by the vegetable whisky shop. The insect walks out on one of the long leaves nntil he comes to tlie end of it, and finding here a quantity of delicions drink in the pitcher, he crawls in and swigs and swigs at it until he dies, as is supposed, of alcoholism. At all events he pays for his drink with his life, and leaves bis corpse in the pitcher to sustain by ite absorption the healtbfnl existence of the plant And itis just for this object — to entrap customers for food — that the plant prepares and places on sale its liquor. What the said liquor is com- posed of, chemically speaking, attempts are now being made to find out by analyses. So far it is only known that it is & powerful and pal- atable intoxicant. How much the insects enjoy it you can perceive by looking into the pitchers, where you will often find in each receptacle hundreds of bugs of all descriptions. Another form of the vegetable whisky shop has long, perpendicular, trumpet-shaped receptacles for the liquor, with the wide end of the trumpets at the top, where the bugs are expected to crawl in. And when yoa tear open one of these trumpets — it may be a foot or more in length — after it has survived its useful- ness and dried np, you will usually find it filled from one end to the other with fiies and ants and such things.
VAEIBTT OF DEINK3 AND PATE0H3.
It has recently been discovered — and herein lies the expected use- falness of the investigation now going on regarding these plants — that different vegetable whisky-shops, like their prototypes on the city streets, have different classes of customers. One kind of these shops is frequented almost exclusively by cock-roaches, for whose reception unusually large pitchers are provided — the plant carrying them looking as if it bad suspended ft'om the ends of its strong leaves a lot of small
136 STATE HUBTICULrUBAL 800IBTY.
bath-tnbs. Another kind, with pitchers that reaemble in appearance great big beans, is frequented only by red ants ; and still another kind ia patronized by sings, and has the rims of its pitchers armed with teeth to delay gneste who might wish to depart. So It would appear that these whisky-shops eotUd be propagated for use in destroying such enemies of the household and the garden, and it is proposed to find out bow far such a thing may be practicable. Tbere is no difficulty, cer- tainly, in rearing and ujaintaining the plants, which are not tropical ex- otics but natives of this very regiop about Washington, and readily to be cultivated in any temperate climate.
THE BBBU SALOON.
Quite as interesting in its way as the whisky-shop is the vegetable lager-becr saloon referred to at the beginning of this article. In gen- eral appearance it resembles the whisky-sbop strongly, but its pitchers are wider at the months and have no tops to them. Thus the liquor dispensed by the lager-beer ealoon is diluted more or less by the dews and rains, so that it is not very intoxicating. However, the drink is intended to attract the insect customers and not to poison them. Pa- trons, crawling into the pitchers, take a drink, and, without feeling it go to their heads very much, start to walk ont again. But, unfortu- nately, the whole inside of the pitcher is lined with strong, hairy pro- jections, all pointing downward toward the liquor and sway from the brim. It was easy enough to walk downward, bat when the victim attempts to go apward and ont again, the hairs obstruct his progress so effectually that be finally tumbles back into the drink and is miser- ably drowned. That is the way the vegetable lager-beer saloon cap- tures its customers — by drowning.
THE BUTCHBB. Another fascinating plant now being propagated at the botanical garden is the "butcher," which kills the insects and such things that it feeds upon by crushing them alive, afterward consuming them at its leisure. This is considered to be of all vegetables the one exhibiting an intelligence most nearly approaching that which animals possess. Its appearance is not impressive save for its peculiarity. Growing along the ground, it has for leaves little green things shaped like open clam-shells, the biggest of them half an inch long, wiih a row of little spikes aronnd each edge. As you observe the plant most of the clam- shells will be open, waiting for food, each of them a greedy mouth ready to devour anything that may crawl iu. Here comes an ant. Per- haps be will walk into one of these pairs of yawning jaws. Yes, there
I, Cockle
MISOKLLANBOUS PAPERS. 137
he goes into the big one, attracted by the angary excretion on the inside of the miniature clam-shell, which serves for a bait. The victim reaches the middle point between the jnwe and comes in contact with six mi- croscopic hairs that grow inside the clam-shell leaf and serve the plant as feelers. Immediately the jaws close with a snap, the two rows of spikes folding over the shot edge of the clam-shell, so as to give the prey no chance of escape. If the insect were mnoh bigger and stronger than an ant he wonld be qnickly crnshed.to death. It may be some hoars before the Jaws will open again, the clam-Bhell leaf being occupied meanwhile in digesting the food captared. All the leaves of tbe plant being engaged continually in waiting for prey, eatching it and digesting it, it makes a very good living indeed where bngs are plentiful. In the green-houses there are comparatively few insects, however, and so the head gardener feeds his butcher plant from day to day with snch delicacies as finely chopped or scraped beefsteak and earth-worms cut up, which are devoured with relish. The butcher plant is found in North Carolina, and nowhere else in the world. Fears are entertained that it will pass out of existence before long, for there is very little of it existing in a wild state, and attempts to raise it i1:om seed have not thna tar been very successful. A curious thing about it is that it will' have regular fits of dyspepsia if such indigestibles as salt pork or the heads of bluebottle fitea are fed to it. Tbe clam-shell leaves will turn black and die after consuming that sort of food. One evidence of the intelligence of the plant is aCForded by the judgment it exhibits in its diet. If a piece of paper just the size of a tty is in- troduced between a pair of the little jaws they 'will close greedily upon it, bnt will immediately open again, the discovery having evidently been made that the rapture was not edible Washington Star.
PBINCIPLE8 OF LAWN PLANTING AND MANAGEMENT.
Nature never foils to be pleasing in her informal ways and arrange- ments, and to attract the eye in her endless variations. Where her suggestions are followed in the laying out of the home grounds, the effect must always be more satisfactory than wherethe artificial touches are too plainly visible. Tbe more natural and simple a lawn, large or small, says Joslah Hoopes, in Weekly Tribnne, the more attractive to refined taste. Tbe grading should not be regular and formal, unless the area is very contracted. An undulating surface pleases the eye, recalling the natural scenery of fields and woods. In addition, it im-
138 STATE H0ET1CTILTUE4L SOCIETY.
parts an air of ]?reater extent to the eaclosare than if the snrface be dead leve], or nniform, even slope. Permit a portion of the lawn to remain open ; nothing can be prettier than an expanse of lich-green, close- aha V en turf.
The grouping system ia always more pleasing tban the hap-hazard manner of dotting trees and sbmbs all over the place. Around the outer boandary, and especially frontiagnorth. is generally a good posi- tion for forming belts of mixed trees, but should these obetrnct a cherished view, an opening may be made for a glimpse of the desired object. These belts or clumps ehonid present an easy dowinir ontline, similar to many enter edges of onr woods, and all pretense of formality in arrangement must be scrupulously avoided. Even the few trees placed for shade in reasonable distances of the dwelling may be so disposed as to assume a natural aspect. A little group of two or three specimens will ft'equently break up the monotony of an inartistic disposition of the trees. Have few walks, the fewer the better ; they are expensive to construct properly, are not handsome at best, and require constant attention to keep in condition.
Above all, avoid the vases and statues that some people place over their grounds. The idea of mixing such artificial appliances with pure natural objects like beautiful trees and sbmbs mast be repugnant to any person of discernment in home surroundings. When this mania for pottery of a low degree shall die out, and the unadorned, attractive garden spots, as of old, regain their popularity, a great point will have been reached in American gardening ; not until then will our work prove creditable.
The face of the lawn is of paramount importance. So matter how handsome our trees and walks, neglect of the turf spoils the general effect. To reach perfection and emalate the proverbial green turf of England and Ireland, it is necessary for as to constantly apply top- dressing of some rich fertilizer that will stimulate growth and replace in a manner the constant drain upon its vitality caused by long-con- tinued cutting.
Frequent use of lawn mower encourages growth for a greater or less period, but a reaction will take place should the soil be neglected. We cannot, if we wonld, remove every particle of out grass from the lawn. — Popular Oardening.
.y Google
MISGBLLANB0U8 PA.PBBS.
JTTDGE MILLER ON TENDEE BOSES.
Marecbal IS'iel, which has no sQperior among the yellows, taking^ all things into account, I hare bad off and on since its first intro- dactioD, and up to this time sever bad aaything like a respectable show when grown on its own roots. Bnl when badded into strong stocks^ it has always doae its prettiest. Never yet has one on its own roots given me a single flower, even with the best of care, althoagh laid down iQ the &11 and covered. Daring the sammer they mahea feeble growth, and in the sprlDg invariably are dead.
Not so, however, where budded on a strong stem of some hardy rariety, which, if bndded a few feet from the ground, is so easily bent over and an inverted sod laid on the tender part. Just now two ench trees, as I may call them, are near me on the lawn fntl of bads that will be in bloom in a few weeks, while the two plants in the garden that were better all last summer and never gave a dower, are both dead.
Not a rod from this is an Etoil de Lyon, in my opinion the next best yellow, that was badded six inches from the gronnd three years ago, with a head three feet high fdll of bads and foliage is a picture to look at.
This conld not be laid down last fall, so I took a common Soar barrel with both heads oat and set it over the basb,tlUed in among the branches with forest leaves, and tied a piece of burlap aroond the top that was above the barrel. In the garden is a plant of Pearle de Jar- dins that grew well last season, and which was well covered, dead down to the ground, and is only now showing a feeble shoot. The bndded tree will have roses a month sooner than the latter probably will bave.
Whenever I get a new one and wish to see the flowers soon, it ia taxed aa soon as a twig is fit to furnish bads. I insert them into strong stocks, of which there are always some on hand. Aa soon as the bads have taken, the stock is beaded back and cemented. It is seldom that two months pass until I have roses. Quite recently a delicate little new one came to hand, that bad one tiny branch broken, which my daughter claimed, and put into sand as a cutting. A few days after it struck me that I could improve on that, and asked for it, inserted it in a stock ont-doors, and now a week later it looks fresh and promises to grow.
Boses are now sold so cheap that thousands are bought that never come to bloou. They are little delicate things taken from under glass, that if set out in the open ground, sland five chances out of six to perish at once.
by Google
140 STATE HOBTIOULTURAL SOCIETY.
When sneh are received tbe; shonld be potted, and kept in a warm place with plenty of light bat not mach sonshine for a few dayB; then to be gradnally bardened by exposure to son and air until they hare made a good start'. In this way tbej may nearly all be saved.
Of thethoasands of ditferent flowers in cultivation noneareeqnal to the rose. My collection is but small, but am adding to it every year. If some one eoold raise a hardy yellow rose equal to Marecbal Siel in other respects, he would have a fortune in it. When grown under glass it may do well on its own roots, but not ont-dooTs with me. — Popular Oardening.
DON'TS FOB AMATECES.
Don't plant seeds as small as the eye of a needle, snch as petunia and portulaca, under an inch of soil. . They should be merely covered, and that with soil as fine as you can make it.
Don't ponr water on plants or flower beds out of a pail, or a dip- per, or anything else ; nse a sprinkler or a hose with a fine spray.
Don't let any one make you believe that luck has anything to do with success in cultivating flowers. It has not ; nnfailiDg watchfulness and industry, with a mixture of common sense, is worth all the luck in the world in flower gardening, as in other things.
Don't begin with high-priced novelties, or foilare will most likely attend your best endeavors. Select for yonr flrst venture kinds and varieties of flowers and plants most easily grown. Any ftiend who grows flowers can tell you what these are.
Don't fuss too much over your plants ; they like to be let alone when they are doing their best, and so do you.
Don't follow everybody's advice. Select some good authority on plants and be guided by it. Above all, don't "try everything" to make your plants grow. ^Nothing will kill them sooner than persecution of this kind.
Don't let &ilure dismay or discourage you. One must serve a sort of an apprenticeship in flower-bowing as in other occupations. Study your climate, your soil, the location of your flower-beds, and the kinds of plants particularly adapted to your locality.
Don't do as the lady did who said that she watered her plants regnlarly every Wednesday and every Saturday, whether they needed it or not, b'^cause she believed in having "a regular system for every- thing." Water your plants when they need water, and at no other time.
MISOBLLANBOnS PAPBRB. 141
Don't be too eager to buy seeds &nd plants where yoa can get tbem the cheapest. The best is always the cheapest, and yoa cannot get the best for nothing or for half price. I once had a bare, ragged, Bickly-looking flower-garden all snmmer, as the resnlt of an experiment \nth cheap seeds and plants.
Don't think yon can't have flowers because yon haven't half aa acre of garden. Wonders can be done on ten sqoare feet of gronnd, and £ once saw a flower-garden in an old wasfa-tnb, that was a thing of beanty from June until October.
Don't be stingy with yonr flowers after they have come. Give them to the poor, the sick, and even to tliose who love flowers bat
cannot have them becanae of living in blocks of flats, or boarding
Vtek'a Magazine for July.
BONANZA EASPBERRY.
Editor Rural World — This is a new black-cap of Oreene coanty, Mo., growing apon the gronnds of W. C. Freeman, and introduced at the late meeting of the Missonri Hortiealtnral society at Poplar Blaff, as probably "the coming Black Raspberry." Parties making state- mentsthen faad,aBthey believed, good reasons for thefavorableopinion expressed. Since that time additional evidence of its value has been gathered from its third fruiting, in which it fully justiAes the originator's claim for it, of being very prolific, early and long in use, and of its qual- ity there is no further doubt. The very best proof is in the eating. It begins to come to the table first week in Jane. Early in June Mr. Freeman brought it to us, this time requesting fair trial at table with cream and sugar in comparison with other varieties. This was done with pleasure. We found it juicy and every way excellent, and in its peculiar aromatic flavor it differs from all others. On the 7th of July (Monday) Mr. Freeman picked for us again a sample quart of his Bo- nanza, but in bringing in bis load of blackberries he forgot to bring me the Bonanza, and brought it Wednesday the 9tb, in such acceptable shape aa warrants the opinion that it will be a good shipper. There had been hot, dry weather, and we expected to find the berries dry and poor, but they were yet juicy and delicious. Picked sixty hours before they were used — it is surely a good keeper. From close observation and frequent comparison with other varieties in hardiness of cane and foliage in both cold and hot seasons, and in fruitfulness, earliness and
142 STlTB HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY,
fine qoality of frnit, I believe it will be a valuable acquisition to our list of Black Baspberries, and that in several points it Trill head the list.
Sec. Gbeehe Oo. Hob. Soc.
0T7R EXPERIENCE.
EBsa7 read hy H. T. Barrla at a recent meeting of the Henrj Countj Horticultural
Society.
Mr, President and Members of tke Senry County Sorticv.ltv,ral Society:
Not being a practical hortioalturist and less practical in writing essaye will snrely excuse me &otn attempting to lead yon into any of the ecientiflc principles, or into any of the shady bowers to feast yon apon the beaaties, perfumes and nectars of the golden and crimson fruits of the well- cultivated vine and tree.
We are all aware of the fact that hunger, pain aud disappointment €ire experienced by all mankind, and oouscioas, too, that by labor — " by the sweat of the brow" — hanger will disappear, pain be eased and dis- appointment lessened. Not one day's labor, or one planting, will snfBce. Hunger comes again with increased activity ; decay and insects are at work upon the seed', plant and tree, both above and beneath the ground.
We Uve to-day enjoying the profit and pleasure of oar labor and fatigue of yesterday ; to-morrow will bring increased demands for more and better results, and this knowledge, with that of knowing we are bettering onrselves, our families, neighborhood and coutity, causing sabstantial and perpetual good in assisting a kind Providence in build- ing and preparing rest-places along the pathway of life, surely should cause us to renew our interest and diligence.
All cannot bnild large mansions and surronnd them with the rarest and choicest flowers, fruits aud shrubbery ; but it is the privilege and «hoald be the pleasare, to say nothing of the duty, of every family to have a home of their own where should be planted and cultivated fruits, vines and flowers^home attractions and comforts — and though it may not appear grand and stately viewed by the outside world, yet to the possessors, to the goers-in and comers-out, a home, a protection, a retreat and refuge from the storms and cares of the outside world and a blessing to our whole country.
.y Google
MISCELLANEOUS PAPKB3. 143
Spring, with annsliine and showers, brioge vegetable life into activity and with matnie plans of what, wheui and how we wilt plant. Looldng back over the weak and withered plants, vines and trees of onr past planting, and knowing the cause of many fiulnres, and too knowing the kind and condition of the plant and soil as well as cultivations that proved sach splendid and hardy growers, each beauty and flavor, such quality and quantity of tmit that has been a profit and a pleasure to all who have partaken of ita life-giving and life-sustaining properties, is an incentive that prompts us to more mental and mechanical activity.
We have many things to learn that it will be profitable for us to know. And where can we better learn useful and practical lessons than by meeting around at our respective homes, bringing our experi- ence, comparing condition, results, etc.f In this day of wonderfnl de< velopments in hortieultare (as well as other pursntts), where new kinds, better quality, new modes, better eonditions, new devices and appli- ances, and too when new insect life and germs are making unceasing war and death upon every seed, plant, vine and tree we plant, makes it a necessity that we be posted and ready for every Sank movement of the enemy, and be benefited by the " manna" when it falls ; and if I mistake not it falls most when we labor intelligently and are willing to help ourselves and one another.
So one of us can investigate and gain all the knowledge desired by staying at home digging, thinking and watching. We are largely gleaners of each other's experience and observation, and at every meet- ing we gain some knowledge that we might never dig out by ourselves
At our meetings in the country (at onr homes if you please], seeing the diGferent varieties and kinds, the location, soil and conditions which produce the results as we see them, and seeing the conveniences, ap- pliances and devices, and feeling the comforts and warm-heartedness of onr brother and family, are object-lessons which impress alt that it is good to be there.
Tee, we have met together, have ate and drank together, have counseled and advised together, onr hearts have been made happy, ajid we rejoiced in so good a heritage. Others better than I can tell of the great success, pleasure and profit of these meetings, made so in a great measure by the devotion and ability of our worthy and highly ap- preciated lady members, who have led us by word and thought and deed throngh yards, lawas and gardens, fragrant and beautiful with roses and flowers^ made so by their skill, making their homes beautiful and dear to them and inspiring a noble ambition within each of us to make our iudividnal homes more attractive and dear. They, too, have
114 STATE HOBTIOnLTDBAL SOCIETT.
met with us in groves and orchards, Vringiag with them good words, arranging ilowers. ft'oilB, and a bouatiM and most delioioas dinner, each active in making all happy and better — there, nnder the foliage, "a shade so deep, so darkly green that morning sends her shafts of gold in vain, to pierce its leaf^ screen," which has been cultivated, trained and trimmed by the skilled hand of our brother, and made great, glorious and magnificent by a kind Providence, is a day passed making as more neighborly, kind-hearted and better citizens.
We, too, have met with a warm welcome in the large, comfortable and conveniently-arranged homes of our neighbors where all within and aronnd speaks of life and happiness, and to a great extent forgetting oar weariness from the vigoioua shaking of oar plam trees and diligent search for the carcalio that has caased bitterness of frait and scrrrow to oar soals ; our back-ache from digging after the tree-borers that have made great holes in our trees and pierced their hearts and caased death ; onr short-sightedness after anatomizing the myriads of insects which have been weaving webs, depositing eggs, puncturing the bark, poison- ing the sap, and in many ways destroying onr shrubs, plants, trees ^nd fraits ; our weariness of limbs from runuing down several rabbits that have girdled our choicest trees, eaten off oar highest- prized plants and that have no fear for dogs and guns, bat laugh at onr loss and disap- pointment and come again to try oar Job-like patience ; oar discordant hearing t^om the " Pharaoh '' war-whoop of the locust that perches itself upon every branch and twig, and spiking itself firmly, turns bed- lam loose ; our sore throats trom singing trying to keep courage np ; and withal oar amiable disposition after having been visited by a royal personage, a tree peddler, who, having the high-colored plates of fruits and fiowers known in the science of color and art, the glibbest tongue ever let loose on deluded man, sets out to walk as into his parlor and paradise. He says the plants, frnits and fiowers which he wants to make us the possessor of and us alone, cannot have justice done them by color or his tongue. " They have come to him by a special provi- dence, and to ns alone will he give the grand opportunity of eating and drinking of the nectars and spices delighted in by the gods, feasting our eyes upon the delights and beauties of paradise and making us an untold fortune. The plants, vines and trees are of such soperior hard- iness that no winter sloim or cold can chill their warm hearts, beutiful buds, flowers and fruits ; no hot summer sun or wind dry up their foli- age; no tree-borers penetrate their barks; no rabbits can eat them, and having been grown on strictly scientific principles, will adjust and properly balance their own tops, will bear trait when others Cm), will shed tears when we die, and last, that the George Washington hatchet cannot destroy It."
D.-|nz,= U Cookie
MIB0ELL1.KBOD8 FAFBB8. 145
Thus, haviug willingly been carried from the scenes of labor and disappointment to ease and contentment, from tlie discord of insects to the melody of birds, from blight and disease to vigor and perpetaal life, from nncertsinty to certainty, from scarcity to abondance, from soar and bitter to sweets and spices, makes as sd honored member of the society, and oar lady friends give as the eaaieat chair, and there we listen to oar poor (t) horticnitnrist brothers and sisters who are less favored than we, give their sad experience of toil, disappointment and disconragement.
Did yoa ever meditate 1 I wish I hadn't ; bat hearing these bothers, trials and np-set calcolations got me dizzy, and I begin to feel the paradise planted by the tree-peddler sinking from me and my head in a whirl. I &11. In my descent I grasp for something to stay my downward conrse ; am caaght, scratched and bruised by the prickly pear tree ; boaadiag off, am lacerated and all puckered ap by the bitter crab-apple tree ; rolled into a thorn bnsh called a plam tree ; grasped for a trellis by a soar grape-vine and held in a bed of dog-fennel called daisies, aod finally lose conscionsness. Ailed with prickly, stinging nettles called heliotrope. Thns we are foaud, and the ladies, whose sympathy in oar misfortnne Is equal to their love for our greatness, set about to bring us bttok to conscionsness, and with music so sweet and charming, with thought so dueatly and eloqnently expressed, with fraits more delicioDS and abundant than Mother Eve presented to Father Adam, and too, with subjects more willing to be banqueted than he, and with all things made ready and prepared by them for ns — hungry and weary mortals, we are again led, not Into thorns, briars and disap- pointments, but into the dining room where our thoughtful and skilled wives and danghters have prepared a feast of beauty and bounty, full of perfumes, nectars and spices ; stately in it« appearance, royal in its elements, delicate in its character and sabstantial in it« effects for us much-imposed-npon horticalturists. By this homeopathic treatment heroically administered, we are restored, and in a short time will be ready to combat with tree-peddlers, insects, etc., though we again fall — in the sympathy and hands of our lady friends — in the midst of such a fea«t.
" Breathes there a man with soul so dead " who would not be a horticultarist T H. T. Bubbis.
.y Google
STATE HOBTICDLIUBAL SOCIETY,
THE OODLIN MOTH.
At a faorticaltaral meeting held in Michi^n reofntly, L. A. Lilly gave the fcliowing intereatiog talk on the aboTe-iiamed enemy of the frnit grower :
"Almost everything we grow has its enemies, which most be guarded against and destroyed in order to obtain anything like reason- able resalts. There are many obstaoles in the way of snccessfol f^nit- growing, which mnst be nuderstood to enable as to meet and over- come them, one of which is the Godlin Moth, which, perhaps, is the worst enemy of the apple, becoming more serions each year. Its natnral history and habit is perhaps the first thing to be considered. We will commence with its first appearance in the spriag, which occnra abont the time apple trees are ready to blossom, in the form of a small gray moth. As soon as the blossoms fall and the apple is formed, this moth deposits eggs in the calyx or blossom end of the apple, which at. this time is always nprigbt and remains so nutil the frnit grows to sach size and weight as to canee them to tnm downward, hanging to the stem jnst the reverse of the position they occnpied when first formed. It is daring the time that the blossom end is np that the egg is depos- ited in the calyr. In about eight to ten days these eggs batch into tiny worms, which begin to eat into the apple and soon find their way into the core. Then the apple drops from the tree, carrying the worm with it. The worm soon eats its way out of the apple and conceals itself nnder the bark of the tree or some other convenient hiding place, winds itself in a cocoon, from which in it comes out a moth, the same as that which deposited the egg. The second crop of moths are now ready to deposit more eggs, somewhere on the apple, and those eggs soon hatch into tiny worms, the same as those in the spring, which eat their way into the apple as before, and after some time eat their way ont at any part of the apple. It is this second crop of worms that canses wormy apples in the fall. Some of these worms remain in the apples and only eat their way oat dar'ug the winter, when they wind themselves into a cocoon and hatch into moths in the spring ; and this is the point where we commenced with them.
Any one can see that if we can destroy the first eggs we can pre- vent the apples from dropping, and also prevent the second crop of worms later in the summer, and by that means save the apple from the ravagas of this second crop, as they are the cause of wormy apples in the foil As has already been stated, at the time the eggs are deposited the blossom end stands up, and any poisonous matter thrown on the apple falls into these cups, and there remains until the newly hatched
MISCELLAKBOTJS PAPERS. 117
worms eat and die. By the ase of BprayiDff pampB a solatioD of one pooud of London pnrple or Paris green to 300 gallons of vater can be thrown on the trees so aa to reach the apples. This will natarally fall into these caps. This spraying shoaid be done within ten days after the bloasoms drop. Six days wonid be better, then repeat the opera- tion tea days later. This is the most effectual remedy known."
Mr. Lilly might also have mentioned the destraction of the apples which drop prematnrely ^om the trees from the effects of the first brood of worms. Even after spraying some worms will still live, and after ffoing through the stages above described, fall with the apples to the groand. If several bogs vere tarned into the orchard they would eat these apples as fast as they fall, and would give the worm no time to get oat of the apple and spin itself a cocoon in which to pnpate. He might also have mentioned the feet that in nearly, if not quite, all cases Paris green is preferable to London purple for spraying purposes.
TWO SIDES TO THE SPBAYISG QUESTION.
A Mercer county {N. J.) correspondent of the " Rnral New Yorker " . says that there are two sides to the qnestion of spraying trees to pre- serve the fVnit. It is as yet something of an experiment. While the advocates of the practice can give examples of apparently great bene- fits derived from it, its opponents can point to failures of sprayed trees to bear well and to great crops where no insecticide had been nsed. There can be no doubt that all leaf-eating enemies of onr fruit trees can be destroyed by spraying if it is effectually done. The number of applications will necessarily depend very much npon the amoant of rainfoll and the kind of insects one may wish to kill, and also on the thoroDgbness of the spraying and the immediate surroundings. For instance, if we spray for the tent caterpillar, but neglect the wild cherry and some other trees, we must expect to have to spray often and not always quite satisfactorily. For the curcnlio we mnst spray almost befc^re the leaves start in the spring, and if it rains the work will have to be repeated. The codliii moth is at work very soon after the blos- soms fall, or before, and continues busy for some days. Spraying for the scab is a long and somewhat expensive operation for late varieties, and in sommers like the past here, to make the work thorough, it should be done i^oot every ten days. It is bard to get it done, as the majority of farm-bande and fruit-growers look npon it as a humbug, and think it will make no difference how much it may be slighted. It took some time to teach farmers how to kill the potato beetle. The success of
148 STATE HOETIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
sprayJDg for tbe apple and pear scab is not so obvioas as that of spray- ing for the potato beetle. It may not be deemed a mark of moch cour- age to practice what ooe's neighbors langh at, bat it takes some uerre. There is no doabt that the codlin moth can be killed, and it ie to be hoped that the cnrcnlio can also, by the use of arsenical poisons. There is reason for thinkiog that the copper solatiou is beneficial in preventiDg the scab, and also that the destraction of tbe cedar balls is a preventive of rnst. The main reason why orchardtsts do not spray is that, as a mle, they raise grain, and when spring comes help, from some canse or other, is not plentiful. Oats have to he sowed and com planted ; rainy days come, and horses are scarce ; and attention to tbe tmit trees is pat off from one day to another, and finally they are given over as among tbe things that mast be neglected. Spraying, therefore, will be left undone almost always anless especial provision has been made for the work. The injaty is not apparent until it is too late to prevent it. In fact, the years in which the work pays best are those in which tbe Arait-grower thinks he has no fruit to spray. I would advise all orchardists to get an inexpensive force-pomp before spring opens, along with some London pnrple, carbonate of copper and ammonia, and spray all the trees which time wUl permit, and keep spraying for the scab after every heavy rain until the fruit is fit for gathering, or, in case of most trees, antil August 1. Last spring we &iled to order oar ammonia early enough, and after we had sent for it we didn't get it for a week, and the delay stArled our orchards on the way to failure.
IOWA STATION.
Plum cuboxilio and plum gougbb, C. P. Gillette, M. S. (pp. 370-388).
Plum ouriiUio ( Conotrackelvs nenupkarj. — Observations by the anthor in 1889 with reference to the breeding of this insect in Iowa are reported. Tbe resnlts agree with those of other observers in showing that "the curcnlio is not double brooded in Iowa, but tbe eggs deposited late in July and August are from belated females. A tabalated record is given of the fruit injored by the curcnlio on trees of four imported and seven native varieties of plums. The per cent of fruits injured in the case of the imported varieties varied from 14 to 66, and averaged 46.8 ; for the native varieties it varied f^om 2.5 to 25.8 and averaged 6.6. Analyses of specimens of five varieties of plams, made by the station chemist, are recorded, which show percentages of water varying from
MISCBLLANBOUS PAPBM. 149
75.3 to SoM. In coniieclion iritli the observations on the carcolio, these snalyses iodicate that " the aaccnlent, qnick-groffing plams are not less attacked than slow-growing rarieties."
Observations of the action of the enrcuUo on the Dnchess apple are also reported, and the carcalio parasite fSigalpkua eurculioniaj is illnstrated and briefly described.
Beoords of two applications of London pnrple (May 4 and 11) indi- cate that " althoagh not made at the times best snited to destroy the cnrcnlio, they apparently gave a protection of 44 per cent against the ravages of this insect."
Plum ffouger (Ooecotorvs prwtioida, Walsh) — This includes a brief illnstrated description of this insect and an account of its life history, with special reference to observations by the author; a record of ex- periments with London pnrple for this insect ; and brief notes on Sigal- phua eanadentis, a parafiit« which was observed to prey on the gonger. The following summary is taken &om the bulletin;
(I) The gonger ippeara upon thetre«i mnoh earlier In the Bprlog than does the carcnllo.
(3) The gouger U much more Injurious than the curcallo to native plnma on the gronnda of the Iowa AgTlonltnral college.
(3) The gouger very much prefers the native to the domestic varietlea.
(4j The exnmlDalloa of over twenty-four tboaisnd native plums, ft-om not less than eighteen different trees of man^ vailetles, showed a little over 27 per cent of tbelr fruit to be injured by the gouger.
(6) The gougera take no food In the fall after emerging trom the plums.
(6) Tbe gonger has at least one parasite that preys upon It while In the pupa slate. The parasite Is Si^lphtu eanadetuia.
(7) The season's experiments Indioate that London purple, as recommended for the destractlon of the ourcullo, Is of little value forthedeatmotioD of the gouger.
(H) Tbegougerit notable to C4Mne to maturity in f^tt that falls f^om the trees before the middle of July.
(9) Frnlt Infested by the gonger does not ripen or fall prematurely.
(10) About 36 per cent of tbe punctures of the gouger result In the production of a beetle.
(II) Jarring the trrees, collecting the beetles, and gathering stung fruit ftom the trees before the Ist of August, are the best remedies at present known for the gouger.
London purple for plum trees. — As the reanlt of his experiments the author holds that 1 pound of London pnrple to 240 gallons of water malces a solution sufficiently strong as an insecticide and safe to nse on plum trees.
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STATB HOETIOULTDEAL BOOIETT.
MASSACHUSETTS HATCH STATION, BULLETIN NO. 8, APRIL, 1890 (pp. 24).
Grbkn-HOUSB HBATIWG — STEAM TEB8UB HOT WATER, S. T. MAY-
NABD, B. S. (pp. S~5). — A oarefal repetitioD of the experimeotfl reported in BnlletiDS Noa. 4 and 6 of tbis Btation (see Experiment Station record. Vol. I, pp. 82 and 225) confirmed the reaolts previonely obtained in tavoT of the hot-water system. The two green-honseB are alike except that one is heated by hot water and the other by steam. From Decem- ber I, 1889, to March 18, 1890, for the hot-water boiler 0,598 pounds of coal were consumed to maintain an average temperature of 49.74° Fab. ; for the steam-boiler 9,784 pounds of coal were cousumed to maintaiti an average temperature of 48.39° Fah. Objections to the experiments are considered and the correctness of the conclusions is maintained. TbermoQietric obserrations of "sun temperatures" in the two honaes are cited.
Obseetationb oir peach ybllowb, S. T. Maynabd, B. S. (pp. 6-12, illustrated.) — In New England peach tref e do not generally main- tain healthy growth beyond the age of six to ten years. The chief difficulties are cold, and the disease called "yellows." Wbether tbis disease is due to a specific germ or microbe ia not settled. It may be of a similar nature to pear blight and other kindred diseases, and per- haps the same as that which often destroys the wild cherry, wild plnm and sweet birch. There is no evidence that it is contagions. The symptoms of this disease are briefly stated, and reference is made to previously reported experiments in a small peach orchard on the col- lege grounds by Professors Ooesaman and Penhallow and tbe aathor. The conditions favorable to this disease are believed by tbe aathor to be improper food supply, and injuries by cold, by the peach borer {^geria exitiosa), and by any accident which reduces the vigor of tbe tree.
(1) Food supply — "In almost every case investigated where the trees are neglected and the food supply is small, tbe trees soon die, many of them showing unmistakable signs of tbe yellows, while where thej'ood supply is abundant and of a kind suited to perfect development, the growth is vigorous and healtby, and tbe trees often live for fifteen to twenty years,
"Too large an amount of nitrogenous manure, especially if applied so that the trees do not get the benefit of it early in the season, re- sults in a late, immature growth of wood, that is often seriously injured by cold daring the winters, and this is followed next season by signs of tbe yellows.
MIoCBLLAKBOnS PAPESS. 151
"The fertilizeiB recommended are eqnal qosotities of ntnriate of potash and nitrate of aoda, with abont four times the veigbt of fine groand boce. Applied in March or April, ft-om 5 to 10 poandg to the tree, according to size. Wood ashes 5 poands, ground bone 2 ponnds, with from one-half to one ponnd of nitrate of soda to each mediom- sized tree, will also prove very satisfiactoTy. If the land is poor, con- taining little organic matter, a liberal dressing of stable manure may be applied in the fall ; bat if the land is not very poor, chemical manores will give better resalts. All manures or chemical fertilizers shonld be applied so that the trees may get the benefit of them early in the sea- SOD. If very solnble, they ahoald be pat on in March or April, bnt stable mannre or groand bone should be pat on in the fall."
[2) Injury by ooid, borers and acddeut — When a late growth of the trees occurs f^om any canse, as f^om too mach nitrogenous manure applied late in the season, or from a wanu, late fall, the action of frost daring the winter often breaks the tissnes in snch a manner that they «annot be repaired daring the next season's growth, and dead places are often foaad on the tmnk and main branches. These conditions are very common in trees trout eight to ten years old in most orchards of New England. Injuries of a very similar appearance more frequently «coar as results of a decay of the tissues abont the holes made by the peach-borer. The queotion is suggested whether these and other in- juries result in the yellows, and observations are cited which imply that they do.
NOTES FROM PURDUE UNIVERSITY.
The following brief pusgraphs, 22 in nnmber, bring out the more important points in bulletin No. 33 of the Purdue university agri- cultural expeiiment station.
C. S. Plumb, Vice-Director.
1. Soil for strawberries should be deep, firm, rich and somewhat moist, bat not strictly wet.
2. The five most productive strawberries for this region are, Bnbach, Eahance, Hampden, Jessie and Park Beauty.
3. The five varieties of strawberries of best quality are. Black Defiance, Crawford, Gandy, Henderson and Sharpless.
4. Brandywine and Guthbert raspberries are two of the best red varieties, the latter for late. Tyler is superior to all cap raspberries.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_'V_V
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ISH STATB HOBTICULruBA.1. SOOIETY.
5. The carrants, Fay, Moore's Rnby, Wilder, Raby Uaatle, Bed Datcb, White Dntch, Lee's Prolific, Grandall and Block Naples, are recomiaended ia the order named.
6. For &rmGTB, Early Orange and Downing gooseberries are re- commended.
7. To prevent black rot of ffrapes, dissolve two poands salpbate of copper in two gallons bot water. In another vessel dissolve two and one-half poands soda carbonate, and mix the two solntions. After chemical action is over, add one and one-half pints of ammonia, and thin the whole to 22 gallons. Spray this on the vines ftom time to time with a force pnmp, from the time the berries are the size of small peas, nntil all danger of rot is over.
8. For fomily nse, the following grapes are recommended for quality and prodnctiveneas : Concord, Delaware, Ocetbe, Martha, Moore's Early, Wilder, Worden.
d. The variety of plnm whose blooming season covers the greatest period of time, will best withstand the work of the oarcalio. Tbismlo holds good among both apples and pinms.
10. The planting of plnm trees in the apple orchard wilt not protect the latter, and viee veraa.
11. If anything is to be gained by asing another frnit to draw off the cnrcnlio and protect the plcm, the nectarine will probably serve as well as the apple.
12. Adult cnrcnlio beetles eat the palp of apples.
13. Gnrcnlios will deposit their eggs in frnit hanging over the ■water.
14. The indications are that the strawberry crown borer lays ita eggs during March and April, in the plants near the surface of the ground,
15. Earning strawberry plt^its after fhiit picking may destroytbe crown boter.
16. The common field cricket will eat strawberries.
17. A new strawberry insect, a close relative of the Orape-vine flea-beetle, attacks the foliage in Florida and Indiana, and the grape in Arizona.
13. Soils absorb the decomposed products of animal and vegetable nuitter.
Id. Soils draw off and hold certain portions of minerals from their solntions.
20. When a solution containing a salt of an alkali (potash or am- monia) is placed in contact with common soil, a change takes place, the
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MISCBLiANEOTIS PAPEBS. 163
Boil receiving sometliiiig troio the BOlatioa, and uBQally replacing this by aome of its own parts.
21. The best time to apply a nitrate is in the growing season.
22. Soils absorb from solations, phosphoric acid.
MISSOURI ORCHARDS.
Those who have never seen a Missouri orchard in foil bearing have yet to behold a very pleasant sight, says "Ozark," in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
The soil of Sonth Missonri is not the conglomerate mi^tare formed in the region over which the glaciers expended their grinding and mix- ing forces, bnt it is composed of earth formed by the slow disinte- grating process of changing the npper layers of rock to soil, supple- mented by the results of centuries of grazing by vast herds of wild animals, and anDual fires that consumed the vegetation which grew up in spite of the roaming herds.
The same condition of soil extends to the Arkansas river ; and, as a matter of coarse, the apples and other ft^its flourish there equally as well as in South Missouri.
The elevation in this part of the Ozark region is from 1,200 to 1,600 feet above the sea-level, with some peaks and ridges mnnlng np to 1,800 feet or more.
This affords a cool atmosphere at night, with heavy dews in snm- mer and autumn, and the bright, warm sunshine giveb a beautiful color to the fimit, particularly to peaches and deep-red apples, like Winesap, and other similar varieties. Iron enters into the composition of many of the rocks, and furnishes a good element in fruit soil.
This region was for a great many years the home of the buffalo and the Indian, and evet? y^ar the prairie grass was burned off. and the soil supplied with an abundance of potash, of which element about 57 per cent of the ash of the solid matter of the apple is composed.
The combination of elements in the soil here, thus formed, is well suited to the prodaotion of fruit, and it is seldom that a fulnre in the crop occurs ; and this year is no exception, for there is a good supply. If we enter an orchard and look around us, we shall find the trees are in good condition. The limbs branch out some four feet from the gronnd, the lower ones bending to the earth, aud all are covered, even to the topmost twig, with tempting fhiit; and the question at once suggests itself, "Was the original Garden of Eden located in south
J
15i STATE HOBTIOTTLTUBAL SOGIBrT.
Miasonrit" The trees are foirly shingled over, and preaeat the appesr- aoce of a complete pyramid of apples ; and the aight ia indeed a pleas- ing one, for it has the effect to almost bewilder the beholder because of the great abanance ; and this is a yearly oecorrence if the orchard has a reasonable sbare of attention.
When Sontb Mieaonri haa an entire fiulnre of the apple crop, there will hardly be applea enough in the other portions of the eonntry to make one good apple pie, bat the fitct is, this region of country never has a complete fiulare In froit, and every year large orchards are planted, and the time is near when the whole eonntry can be supplied with applea ftom the Ozark region.
Aa a sample of the success of apple-growing here this season, one former will pocket $13,000 for the apples on his trees, just as they are, while others will get as maoh for their apple crop aa they aaked for their forma six montha ago.
Springfield, Mo., Oct. 6.
FRUITS WITHOUT SEEDS.
Seedless apples were known to the ancients, and since then many mentions have been made of the same fact. Within the last century not only seedless fruits, but those preceded by no bloaaoms, have been occoaionally met with. Thaa the "no-blow" variety waa without ap- parent bloasom and bore no seed. Other examplea of the same pecu- liarity have appeared under different names. In the common cherry the kernel or embryo of the seed is frequently abortive, and therefore useless for germination. The second bloom of pears and of straw- berries is often doubled. Piatillate varieties of the latter firnit will sometimes produce berriea, but without seeds. The banana ia one of the best illustrations of the seedless fruit There are many varieties of this tropical fiuit, and it is probably true that the wild plants were aeed-bearing. The ao-called " dried currants " are seedleas grapea from Corinth. In Calitoruia this grape produces aeeds, and attempts to raise the atandaid article have failed. On the other band, the Sultana grape of California is seedless, aa are also some vines of the Black Hamburg. Among citrous firaits the orange and lemon arc prominent for lack of seeds in some sorts. Cross-breeding seems to have devel- oped this sterile condition ; for example, In the " Washington navel " or *' Biverside" orange, and the Mediterranean Sweel, are bat few seeds. The " Eureka" variety of lemons bears but few seeds, and one of the beat of lime fruits ia one without seeds. In the gourd fomily there are
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MISCBLLANEOtT5 FAFEBS. 165
many varieties vitb few seeds. Thas forced ciicniiibers nnder glass hare a solid flesb and are uot considsred good if seed-bearing. Melons of the higbest qaalily are not " seedy," and fine varieties of garden pumpkins are propagated by slips in the sooth.
Dr. E. L. Start«vaDt, who has made an extensive study of seedless fmits, in a recent paper upon the sabjeot states that "The better vari- eties of the apple naaaUy contain some abortive seeds, and they are someliraes individually to be found seedless. As a rule, when ^ere is a tendency to abortive seeds, the larger and finer the apple the greater the number of abortive seeds.'' There seems to be a correlation exist- ing between seedlesencBS and quality, or perhaps better, tenderness of the edible portion. If this be a law it is one that all improvers of fniit shoDld know, that they may work with, and not against it. While this generalization is in mind, it shonid also be remembered that unless the development of seedless varieties is correlated with the increased abil- ity to propagate by suckers, offshoots, grafts, or cnttinge, the lack of seeds must, in the end, bring about tb$ destruction of the improved variety. In short, there is a possibility of improving our &aits toward seedlessness nutil that improvement becomes suicidal.
NEW SEEDLING GRAPES.
We have Jast returned from a visit to Mr. John Burr's place at Leavenworth, Kansas, to see his seedling grapes, which surpass any purely native seedlings that we have ever seen.
His Jewel, which was the first to ripen In July, was still hanging oa the vines on the 20th of September in perfect condition, and fally equal to the Delaware in quality. The Ideal is the moat delicious red grape we have ever tasted. Bunch and berry are very nearly, if not altogether, as large as Concord. It is a strong, bardy, healthy grower, and very productive. It is better in quality than the Delaware or Brighton. It is as pure as a European grape and is a seedling of Dela- ware. His Paragon is withoat doubt the best hardy black grape known. We have it with others by our side, while writing this, for comparison. It is fully as large in bunch as the Ooncord, more com- pact, and larger in berry ; about ten days later in ripening. It is jnicy, vinous and sprightly, of the very best quality, and without a trace of foxiness. A strong, healthy grower, free from rot or mildew. It le a very valuable grape for table, wine or market. Eclipse is a white
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156 STATE HOBTIOULTURAL SOCIETY.
grape, and conaiderecl of higher qoality than either of the above. The berry is fully as large aa Niagara or Moore'a Diamond, and of very mnch better qaatity. The banch is as large as Concord, bat not qnite ao compact. It is a very vlgoroas grower, and as delicate and pore as any European grape. Standard ia a black grape of aboat the aame size in bnnch and beriy as tbe Ooncord, and ripena abont the same time, bnt it is mnch better in qaality. It makes a white wine which, to- my ta^te, is eqaal to Catawba, if not better. It is a hardy, strong grower, and appears healthy.
Mr. Bnrr has a Dumber of other seedlings not yet named, of extrft quality. It is a wonder to every one who visits his place how he ha* obtained ao many pure native seedlings of snob large size aiid higb quality with so few poor grapes. They are neither crosses uor hybrids of European blood, yet many are as pnre as if they really were. It demonstrates the fact that where native grapes are grown nnder high cnltivation in a congenial place, free &om all inferior varieties, the- seedlings of those make vast improvement, and when this ia not the- case, the reverse is likely to be tme.
We also visited Stayman and Black's place to eee their new varie- ties. Their White Beauty is a most aaperb grape, ripening about with the last of Concords thin season. Bunch large, compact, often shonldered, being about tbe size of Ives, skin firm, pnip tender, jaicy^ vinous, of very fine quality, free from foxineas; will hang on tbe vines long after ripe without bursting or dropping^a very fine, rich grape^ free from rot or mildew, vine vigorous, hardy and healthy. Whit© Imperial is identical in growth and vine with White Beauty; the bnncb as large, bnt the berry smaller, and ripens with Moore's Elarly, bnt will hang on the vine aa long as the other, and is considered of better quality by many. Leavenworth is the best white grape of the pure Labraska type that we have yet seen, about as early as Moore's Early, nitb a bunch and berry like Concord ; a grape that pleases th& taate of every one. Ozark ia a wonder among black grapes, the strongest and most rampant grower we have ever seen, with heavy foliage, very hardy and productive, of the Norton type. The boncb and berry are very nearly as large as Concord ; about the same time as Herman, and hangs on the vine until after frost. This is a very valua- ble late market grape, free from foxiness ; never drops from the vine^ and as f^ee from rot and mildew aa Norton. Eureka is simply a mon- strous Delaware, and fully equal to it in quality. Perfection is a large red grape, unsurpassed in quality and beauty. They have a number of others not yet named, one a very late white grape, and another a very late black grape, both healthy and promising. Their Jewel grapea
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HISOELLANEODS PAPERS. 167
■were done, yet we foand a few banches still haii^ng on the vines in perfect condition, and* ae good as the best. None of the above seed- ling grapes bat Jewel are yet on the market J. Stayman in Orchard
mtd Oar den.
THE APPLE IS KIMG.
I Btng not tbe rraltage of old Yucatan,
The CltmH of Sp&ln. or the Plama of Japan ;
The Florida Orange may grow In the Sonth,
The Pescli of New Jersey may melt io fOQr month ;
The broad-breasted Qalnoe has a heavenly smell,
And I love California Apricots well ;
Bananafl of Nassau and Malaga Orapea,
In clustering richness and lavishing shapes, —
They're beauttfal all, but bepraUe tbem who will,
A rnddy old monarch outranks them all still ;
A tmlt antrertal, coeval with man :
'TIB the blessed old Affli ; gainsay It wbo can?
—Oood Houteketfiag.
"Poverty is not a mystery, bat a means selected from the infinite resource to make tbe most of me."
"It has been the fosbion to separate hand-work £rom head-work, bnt we are gtadnaJly learning that their harmonioas union is the only means of perfection of either The maas of society ia made np of morbid thinkers and miserable workers. It is only by labor that thonght can be made healthy, and only by thought that labor can be made happy, and the two cannot be separated with impanity." — Rural Netc YorTcer.
Some of onr great men have been mistaken. In the days of 6eo. 8t«pben8oa, the perfeetor of the locomotive engine, the great men proved conclnsively that a railway train could never be driven by steam power. Machinests and navigators proved conclusively that a steamer conld never cross the Atlantic Ocean. There went ap a guSiaw of wise laaghter from the learned men at Morse, when he «nnoanced to tbe world that by the aid of electricity he coald convey intelligence team point to point by the use of a wire. The learned M. D's. knew the component parts of milk -, it would produce fever and
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168 8TATB HORTICnLTITBAL 800IETT.
vas Btrictly forbiddeo to be nsed by tbeir patients ; to-day the patients get milk, and freely, if they desire it. Was it a student that brought aboat the changef Lefs see. A boy lying at the point of death, in a moment when left alone, eot np, vent to the cupboard, drank what rmilk he wanted before he was discovered, was at once carried to his conch and the attending physician called; foand the boy sleeping^ looked wise and patiently awtwted developments. Of coarse he knew there was no hope for the boy's recovery. After a refreshing sleep the boy awoke and called for more milk. — Rural Ifew Yorker.
A PAPEB Oy OECH4ED8.
Read bf Bobeit L;na, before the first meeting of the Atchieon Conoty Hortloal-
tural Society in Tsrklo, Ho., WednesdAy, Jane 11, 1390.
We are happily met here to-day to talk of a happy subject familiar to OCT first parents in their perfectly happy state before the &11, when they were allotted the " Garden of Eden" with orders " to dress it and to keep it ;" and the subject will be equally fomUiar to those of our race who attain perfect happiness along the margin of the river of the water of life, whose trees bear twelve manner of frait. In thinking of the primal garden in Eden, or of the ultimate garden by the interminable river of life, we always think of trees and the fruit of trees. There are avenues and glades and vistas seen in our &ucy, bat always bordered or interspersed with trees. The shady walks, real or poetic, of litera- tare are never shaded with the Gothic arch or silken canopy, bat always with the emerald foliage or Inscious fruit.
We may think of a lodge or a temporary tent or shanty standing on a hare plain, but we never think of a home withont trees, and some of these bearing fruit. This idea of making a home beantifnl and comfort- able should be sufficient to induce every owner of a piece of land to lose no time in planting at least a good garden of fruit trees, and a neat lawn of shade and' ornamental trees. Many are doing this with more or less judgment, bat many who would like to have and who admire a neat and cozy home do not decide to give it the time or attention neces- sary to make a sncceaa of it.
But there is another, althongh a lower view of orchard-growing that is very important, viz. : the financial aspect of it I There is beauty and comfort, tending to love and joy, in a neat little orchard home.
HISOELLANEOnS PAPBBS. 159
Tbere is moaey in a large orch&rd if — if what f If it ia selected, planted, caltivated and pruned on buBineae principles. There ia money in feed- ing cattle and hoga if it ie done with good judgment and with cloae attention every day to all the detaila in baying, drlviog, getting slowly on fiiU feed, salting, watering, sheltering, trough-cleaning, morketiag, etc.; and a feeder makes money jast in proportion to the close atten- tion he pays to all theae details. A good stock-feeder knows jnst how moch he has invested in stock and corn, how long it has been invested, what interest has accrned ; and after deducting interest he knows jnet wbat his profits are.
I have never met a man who asserted that it didn't pay to laiae apples, who coald tell jnst what it cost to raise them. Nor have I ever met a man who applied business principles to frni ^-raising for a number of years who pronounced it a failure. S'o man shonld think that he can secure a fortune by setting out 10 or 100 acres of orchard and give it bap-hazard attention, or no attention at all. What would we think of a mechanic who had laid np 95,000, and resolves to become a mer- chant and proceeds as follows : He bnys or rents a store. Soon a smart, oily-iongaed drnmtner comes along and tells him what be should buy, and he bnys and signs an order for everything that the drummer shows him a picture of, or telle him he needs. He knows nothing of the wholesale honse represented, nor of the responsibility of the drum- mer. Neither does he know anything about rebates and discounts, nor whether the goods are salable in his town. He simply knows that merchants have a good time, dress well, and smart men like himself get rich. He had learned a trade, and had laid by $5,000 because he had learned the trade. He lost Ms capital because be thought anybody could be a merchant if he had money. If a man wants to be a good lawyer he must read law ; if he wants to be a doctor be mnst study physiology, anatomy and medicine, and if he wants to make a success of frnit-growing he must be tborongbly posted in pomology and horti- coltare.
I dwell on the importance of learning to grow fruit because so many who plant orchards are ignorant of its elements. I saw two young orchards last week representing success and failnre respectively. One orchard of two acres contained only fonr sorts of apples : Ben Davis, Wiuesap, Janet and Jonathan, aU planted six years ago. Nearly every tree is perfect, and three-fourths of them are full of apples. It has been cultivated every year. I fonnd the owner pruniug and his man cultivating it. Attheendof twelve years this orchard will have paidan annual rent of at least (30 per acre &-om the time of planting, if the pres- ent owner keeps it. The other orchard is large and the owner evidently
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160 BTATB HOETICULTDEAL SOCIBTT.
intended to do well , for it is Borroanded with a protection of forest trees. The apple trees are all sizes, and look as if each efaose its own loca- tion and -the kind it would bear if it ever had a chance. A large nnmber of the trees are absent, and the clover and grass with which the ground is set scarcely miss their meagre shade. This orchard, T preaame, is grown on the guess plan. The owner will not be able to tell anything about the profits of hie land per acre except in grass crop.
I had no possible means of knowing what sort of apple trees to plant in my first orchard in this coanty 31 years ago, and of coarse, many of my trees are worthless except to give me a few specimens of abont 50 varieties of very fine apples. I kept adding to the old orchard, however, such sorts as gave good promise, and 14 years ago I planted a new orchard witli a few approved sorts. This orchard has paid nearly doable the profits of the old per acre. The cash receipts for the last six years on both old and new together average $40.66 per acre per annam. The cash retame for apples alone from the time of planting the trees until the present is $17.3>1 per acre each year; this year's crop sold for $125 per acre, which brings up the average to ^52.62 per acre ; and from this same land I have raised daring this time aboat $16,000 worth of nursery stock, small fruits, etc. So there is absolutely no oultivatioa to be charged to the apple crop. These fig ares take no account of second-class apples made into vinegar, fed to stock, or otherwise disposed of. Small or wormy apples have novaloe whatever. I intend to begin sprinkling the trees with poisoned water by means of a force pump, by which I hope to add much to the profits of the orchard. Two years ago I lost over 1,000 bushels of apples by the codling moth. I am sorry to have to confess that I have neglected to cultivate as I should have done since the trees occupy all the ground. I had " too many irons in the fire ; " otherwise I could make a much better showing than the above figures. But as it is, it is far ahead of anything that can be shown of a like qoantily of laud devoted to corn crop or any ordinary farming — and the orchard is there yet, and worth at least $250 per acre, while if it had been ran to corn these 20 years it would hardly be worth $40.
Apple-growing, like corn-growing, cannot be overdone. I mean marketable, winter apples. They are thrown on the markets of the world and there is a limitless demand. The extension of the know- ledge of physiology and hygienics makes a constantiy-iucreasing de- maud for firuit on the tables of all civilized people ; and the increasing demand for fruit is in line with the greatest moral movement of this or ftuy age. It is becoming known that the nations who use little or no fruit have the greatest craving [for intoxicants, 'find naturally take to
MiaCBIXANKOnS PlFBBJi. 161
drnakenuesa, while the tree nee of acid fruit is the best physical care for the appetite craving alcohoi.
Begardiug how to make and take care of an orchard, I will only take time to give a few items in regard to necessary things ; (1) Plant anywhere that best saits the general plan of yonr farm, except in a slongh. The late frosts may nip the bloom sometimes in the valleys, bat the valley gives the finest crop. (2) Plow the land at least once as deeply as possible before planting. (3) Plant only a few of the most ap{»roved and best known varieties, mostly three or foar sorts. (4) Get only No. 1 trees of a responsible nurseryman. (5) Plant the natural depth. (6) Flaot when the buds begin to push, about the middle of April. (7) Oaltivate well aroand^each tree when yoang every ten days uatil Jtdy. (8) Hill up each tree every fall for five years and remove tbe hill in the spring. (9) Keep the rabbits from eating the bark by wrapping, or tying corn-stalka up around each tree in winter. (10) Prose the young trees to just the frame you want the tree to have when it is grown up, and prune ynaug trees in June for the first five or six years. It is better to prune too much than too little. Out Backers off at any time and check any branch which rivals the leader. (11) Be careful to destroy all gophers which get into your young orchard, and all webs of caterpillars in May or August. (12) If you plant corn in a young orchard, plant it very late. (13) IS'ever taro stock into a young orchard for the sake of economizing a bite of fodder. To do so is to be " penny wise and pound foolish." (14) Put all the ashes and refuse from the bouse under the trees. Any manure will be useful after the trees begin bearing. (15) Jf the orchard, yoang or old, is going to weeds mow, and leave them ou tbe ground before they bear seed. (16) Pick apples before they are quite ripe. (17) Never try to sell poor apples at full price. Better feed all poor or wormy apples to the hogs. It will help the hogs and kill tbe worms. (18) Get "Barry's Fmit Garden," '■Warder's Pomology" or some other good work on fruit-growing,
(19) Mark what the successful fruit-grower excels iu and do likewise.
(20) Be content with what God gives, and don't " count your chickens before they are hatched.''
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STATE HOETICDLTUBAL SOCIETY.
SOME CHRYSANTHEMUM LORE.
One bnndrad years ago, the plant now ao fashionable the floral world over first came to the notice of the European plant-lover from Ohina, where it had been a historic plant a^es before. It is only within the past dozen years or so that the plant has received any great amonnt of attention Id this country, and only since half that time has the chrya- antbemum sprung into the very first rank as an exhibition plant in the popular demand, and this a new seedling-prod ncing country. The past summer has seen an extraordinary activity in England as the centen- nial year of its iotrodnction, and much literature pertaining to its his- tory and cultare has been the result. Shirley Hibberd — almost at the very time of writing this name the following sad notice was read to the writer from the daily telegraphic notices from London : "Shirley Hib- berd, a man of letters, and editor of the London Gardeners' Magazine, died at Kew to-day, S'ovember 16, 1890." We were about to say that a chrysanthemum number of his magazine of date ]!4'orember 1, 1890, with one issued last year, contains the plant's full history for the last one hundred years, and — what is of extraordinary interest to ns — he has thistosay of our oldtownsmanof Chicago, whom a few of the older floriats will still recollect as the very first florist in Chicago :
"In this year's gallery we add three more portraits to the lengthy series of representatives of our fiower who have passed from the scenes of their earthly labors, but their works do follow them. Two of these are well remembered by many who read these notes ; they are Mr. George Glenuy and Mr, James Butcher. The third, Mr. Samuel Brooks, is perhaps remembered least of any, although we have felt compelled to speak of him as the 'father of the chrysanthemum.' We place him at the head of the list, both because of bis position as a founder, and because the waves have gone over him. The living may follow the dead — they cannot precede them. The portrait of Brooka should surprise anyone who knows the man, for it was taken twenty- six years After his death, and is a veritable photograph of the man when living. This is like an enigma, but it is a serions matter of fact."
(This enigma has evidence of error — twenty-six years would bring it to 1901. There is plainly an error of ten years, and on a visit to Mr. Brooks' son the writer finds that Ibe only photo in existence is an old carte de vinUe from which the photogravure was evidently taken.]
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MIBCBLLANBOUS PAPEB8. 163
"the father of THB OHUYSANTHBHUH."
"In the third chapter of Mr. C. Harroan Payne's History of the Chrysantbemam, pablished in oai last chrysaathemam namber, occurs a notice of Messrs. Barr and Brooks, of Balls Pond, who vere growers of the flower as early as 1817, and indeed earlier, for it was in that year they obtwned the anperb Whit« from China. Mr. Brooks was a mem- ber of the Coancil of the London Hortionltaral Society, and a man of mach spirit and enterprise, aa may be judged by the Eaot that he sent a traveler named Poole to Ohina, who returned in 1819, having secured some new varietiee, amongst which were the Tasseled White, the Qnilled Salmon and the Yellow Single. Mr. Brooks snbseqaently immigrated to America and died at Chicago." Then follows an obitu- ary notice of onr old friend by the writer of this, which was substan- tially 2iven in the colnmns of the "Prairie Farmer" at the time of his death, on September 5, 1876, and in the "American Florist" with portrait Febroary 1, 188S. We also hare given other notee on the same matter from time to time during the past year or two, which need not be here repeated.
Botanioally, the plant is known as cbrysanthemnm, although Eoempfer called it a Matricaria in 1812, in his accoaute of the plants of Japan. The former Is derived from two Greek words, meaning *T^he Oold Flower." In the wild state all our wonderful varieties have sprang from C. 8inen»e, wUd in China, and C. Indicvm from India* In England and this country they are known among the trade as "mums," and tbe lovers of the plant "mummers." In a play on the word and its derivation outside of the use for this plant, poor Shiriey Hibberd says, "Tbe rose is an emblem of silence, and words spoken *nnder the rose' are not to be repeated. Henceforth, when the rose goes out of flower, and the babblers are looking for a new age of clack, we will bring forward the chrysanthemum and cry 'mam.'" In Japan the plant is the national flower, and is called "Hikn." In M&ndarin, China, *'Ghn" is tbe name for short. By some it is "Cbryssie." The French go one better and call it Madame Ohrysantheme. "The Queen of Aatuma" has long been its proud cognomen. Gold flower was once applied to it, and was &r more appropriate than it is now.
STATE HORTICULTUBAL SOOIKTT.
OAKE IN BELECTIifQ THE SEEDS OF TREES.
To the Editor of Qarden and Forett :
Sir — I hare beeo much iutereated in readlDg the editorial on the "Improve meut of Trees," wbicli appeared io your isBne of October 29. The theory you illastrate by the case of the eastern and western Doug- las Spruces, if lived np to and generally adopted, wonld save many disappointments. Abont the time the seed of the Colorado Donglas Sprace was planted in Massachnsetts, I received seeds of this tree collected in Colorado by the late Dr. C. C. Parry. At the same time Bomet Landreth & Sous sent me several pounds of the seed of this tree, gathered on the Pacific side of the continent, to grow for them^ ■as they intended to ase the Douglas Fir in their forest-plantJng in Tir- ginia. The seedlings of both were carefully covered in the autumn of the first year with coarse prwrie hay. The seedlings ftvm the Pacific coast seed were at this time much larger than the others. Both lots grew well the second year; they were planted in the same soil, the Pacific coast seedlings being in the autumn of the second year still much larger than the others. Each lot of seedlings bad the same cov* ering the second winter. When they were uncovered the following^ spring the Colorado seedlings were as fresh as Norway Sprace or Scottish I^ne seedlings of the same age, having wintered perfectly. The Pacific coast seedlings tnrned brown wherever they penetrated throngb the covering of hay, although they were green where they had been well covered. When the time came for them, however, to com- mence their new growth they all died.
The Douglas Sprnce is by no means an exception. I have met with several other cases as marked as the one 1 have related. Many years ago there was a great demand for Bed Cedars for ornamental planting in the west. Many people liked them for hedges. We col- lected oar seeds from native trees growing on the blufiia here. These trees did not, however, produce enough seed to supply the demand, and we ordered five bushels of it fi-om Western Tennessee and the same quantity &om Southern Illinois. We had the same experience as with the Douglas Spruce. The seeds collected here produced hardy trees; the others produced tender trees. At another time Black Wal- nats did not &oit well in our county. We gathered what we could find and ordered a large quantity of nuts from Southern Illinois. The plants raised from these southern plants made a much larger growth
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SIIBCBLLANBOTJB PAPBE8. 165
than onrs dnriDg tbe first season. The following spring oars were all slire with terminal buds, while tbe sonthern plants were killed to the gronnd and went to the brush-pile. I ooold cite many other iaatances as marked, bat these ODght to' be enoagb to coQTince any reaaooable man that it is neceseary to select seeds of trees witJi reference to tbe locality where the seedlings are to grow.
B. Douglas. Waakegau, Illinois,
HOETICULTUBAL SOCIETY OF NOETHBRN ILLINOIS.
From tbe FHrmer's Qeview, Chicago, 111.
Pfof. Forbes, of Gbampaign, State Entomologist, read a very ez- banstive and valuable paper on "Spraying Fruit Treee," which sboold be given ia fall to appreciate its valae. We will only attempt in this brief report to give a few of the main points.
The material mostly used in tbe sprajing of fmit trees is Paris Oreea and London Purple. London Purple is essentially composed of arsenic and lime, and Paris Green of arsenic and copper oxide. In tbe former tbe arsenic ranges ttom 40 to 15 per cent, and in the Paris Green from 55 to 60 per cent. These componnds are recommended as being the best for sprayiog apple trees to destroy tbe codling moth. They may be applied eitber dry or wet. They are much more cheaply applied and qaickly prepared with water than with any dry diluent. Floor is tbe most satisfactory diluent for dry poisons, which may profitably be mixed with one-third wood ashes. This will lessen tbe expense. The proportion of Paris Green to the dry diluent varies from one in 20 to one in 25. About one in 30 is recommended as effl- fleient. Of London Purple about one pound in 45. The proportion of the diluents would be 15 pounds of wood ashes and 30 of flour, with a little less than two pounds of some adhesive sabstance. For tbe apple, cherry and pear one pound of London Parple to 300 gallons of water is recommended by Prof. Oook, but he says this would be too strong for the peach. If tbe application is repeated, use one pound to 300 gallons of water. For plume Paris Green is recommended, one poand to 200 or 300 gallons of watfar. For tbe peach only ^ris Green is applicable, and this in strength no greater than one pound to 300 gallons of water. Several different apparatus for use in spraying trees are recommended. Among them a braes band force- pnmp, sold for $2, by J. K. Oompton, Leslie, Mich.; too small for
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166 STATE HOBTICULTUBAL SOCIETY.
orchards, bat serves very well for » few trees or frarden ase. For » large orchard the Victor Field force-pnmp, a geared machine running by horse-power, and capable of being attached to the hind wheel of an; wagon, is recommended. It can be had for $30, and is made by the Field Force Oompany, Lockport, K. Y. They also make a small pamp, "The Perfection," selling for tl2. Both these pamps keep the mixtnre stirred antotnatically by pumping back a small stream into the barrel through a separate tabe. The Kixon nozzle is especially recommended, and also the graduating spraying nozzle sold with the Field force pump. The Kixon pumps are "ileo recommended. The Victor pump does excellent work by horse power for exten- sive eperation. It will spray one side of a row of trees as &st as a horse can walk. The Nixon field machine Is similarly serviceable for work on a large scale. Their barrel-machine is considered one of the best for spraying large gardens and orchards of medium size. It is recommended that the spraying be deferred until after the bloesoma have fallen. May is considered better than Jnne and July. As re- gards apples, if no heavy rain follows, one application should be suf- ficient; but if it does, especially if the trees bear sparingly, it will often pay well to spray a second time, two weeks after the first. The time of day for applying the dry poison is early in the morning, when the plants are still wet with dew. The wet poisons may best be distribnted in the afternoon, or at least after the dew has disappeared, dry wea- ther being the most favorable.
No new observations have been made with respect to the effect of these poisons upon the apple worm itself. The habits of the insect make it certain that it can be poisoned only in the yoong larvie state before it has penetrated the apple. Nnmerous experiments with the plum oorcnlio showed that the beetle feeds freely on the various parts of the blossom of the peach, the leaves and frnit; also on rose blos- soms, flowers of the snowball, honeysuckle, etc. Poisons applied to beetles, in confinement, demonstrated that leaves sprayed bnt once with Paris Green or London Pnrple would kill practically all the beetles feeding upon tbem within ten days. Tbe practice of spraying the apple is a most important and valuable method, especially in tbe protection of early maturing frnit. Its valae for the late f^tt is less- ened by the appearance of a second brood of the larvte. Even with the most careful and thorough work with the spraying engine the practices of dailj gathering the fallen frait and destroying the larvte and moths must still be made use of, and not only by the orchardist himself, but also by bis neighbors. Experiments have shown that plum trees
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MISCELLANBODS PAPERS.
sprajed four times witb London Pnrple were almost &ee from cnrcalio iijary. Spraying of cberr? trees has proved to be equall; as snccesB- fal.
Tlie deadly poisons here discussed must be ased with certain cau- tion. The spray or powder should always be thrown with the wind, and it is well to handle the apparatus with gloves. The experimenta made by different parties go to show that there is very little to be feared of any bad results coming from the poisoning of the fruit of the pasturage beneatli the orchard trees.
The ao-ealled Bordeaax mixture, essentially blae vitiiol and lime suspended in waler, has oome into prominence as a fungicide, and has been ttsed in a spray upon trees to prevent a formation of the scab of the apple and rot of the plum. Its effect to check mildew of grape is well known to hoHicaltariste.
Mr. J. T. Gotta read a paper on "Orchard Onlture." If one fihoald read all the valuable information that is printed and written by men of experience on orchard culture, he would probably make a fail- ure unless he bad access to practical infoimation obtainable only f^om those who have wrestled with this problem right where he wished to plant the orchard. Twenty years is the age, it is claimed, at which apple trees cease to be profitable, and at this age they should be dug up and new orchards, previously planted, should take the place of the old ones. No one who has had any experience with top-workiug such varieties as are not perfectly hardy in this climate, will have failed to notice the remarkable improvement in the capacity of trees thus grown to resist the injarions effects of hard winters, over those grown by the common modes of root-grafting. It is my honest opinion that apple orchards can be successfully grown with most of our old favorite varieties by this means.
An essential adjunct to an orchard is a good wind-break on the south and vest, partly to protect the trees against excessively cold wind storms, and to prevent the f^nit being blown off by the strong southwest winds. Norway Spruce and White Pine are the best, planted in single or donble rows, eight to twelve feet apart, between the rows and In the rows, setting the trees in break-joint style. Belts of trees on the north and east side would do more harm than good. For the orchard site select some elevated and naturally well-drained location. Avoid barren hill-sides. Any good corn land will answer. If not natarally well drained, tile to the depth of at least four feet. A northern slope is preferable to a soathern one.
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168 STATB HOBTICtILTttai,L SOOIBTT,
Plov and barrow the ^oand thoroaghly. Level land shonid, by repeated plowings, be thrown into ridges, apoD which plant the trees two rods apart, in tlte spring of the year. lu digging, trees lose a portion of their roota. This shonld^be balanced by jndiolons praniDg of the top. Cut away all forked and close-growing branches, leaving one upright shoot for the leader, and cat the ends of all the branches back a few inches. Make all cnts close and smooth. Never leave any stabs, and cut all bruised and broken roots back to sound wood. Plant in holes large enough to permit each root being straightened ont in natural position, setting the tree about two inches deeper than it formerly stood and leaning about 15 degrees toward the southwest. Cultivate corn among the young trees for five or six years. Then seed to clover and let it remain on the ground as a mulch, never permitting a dense grass sod to take possession of your orchard. Protect yonr trees against rabbits, mice and borers by wrapping the stems wiih burlap, wire screen or something of the sort. Keep up the fertility of the soil by an occasional top dressing of well-rotted barnyard maoare. Keep yonr trees tiee from worthless branches and dead twigs. Prune them out during mild weather from November to March.
D. J. Piper read a paper on "The Best New Apple" and flrst out- lined the best way to propagate and grow it. " I root-grafted different varieties of the apple with fair success for a number of years, until '86 and '86. Then came the flrst drawback, when I lost some of my root- grafted trees by freezing. Then I set wind-breaks of willow, Lom- hardy poplar and locust, which are good for the eammer season, bat they did not prevent my apple trees from freezing in the winter time. 1 lost both old and young trees, except of the Whitney and Duchess varieties. These two had passed through two trying winters and had come out bright in the spring. I then began to top work on the Dochess and Whitney No. 20, and had I taken Mr. Whitney's advice in the first place and planted all No. 20, and then top worked them with the varieties I wanted, such as the tJaloame, Wythe, et«., I would be much farther ahead with my orchard to-day. I have some Saloame worked on the Whitney stock and tbey are as fine yoaog trees as can be found. I do not fear their freezing to death. I claim the Saloame to be oar best new apple. It is ready for use in November, and will keep a whole year. The Wythe comes nexi as a first-class apple. Mr. Hathaway, the originator of the Saloame, eaya be kept this variety through the second winter in a common cellar, in good condition. Work the t^aloame on the Whitney and there will be no trouble in growing fine apples."
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MIS0BLLAHSOU8 PAPERS*
POISON IN FOOD PLANTS.
Some of the most valoable prodaotiona, like the White potato, the tomato and the egg-plant, are the resnlts of development JD a family vhich prodnces the tobacco, the Jamestown weed and the deadly nightshade ; and still more singniar Is it that edible innocence in a pro- daot may be intimately associated with a poisonous element in the plant. Starch-yielding tnbers may even be in tbemselTeB an association of simplicity and venom, and we find both in the cassava, from which tapioca is obtained — the solnble elements of the timber being poison- ous, and the insoluble starch edible. In the White potato we have a solannm which has poisonous soronts and fruit, with a valuable and innocent tuber or snbterranean root-stock. The poison, solania, is found in the white sprouts of the tnber and in the green seed-ball or fruit, but not in the tnber as prepared by boiling or roasting. Solania is not a powerfal poison, and one of very ancertain strength. The tomato plant contains solania, while the fruit, which has the same nn- pleasant odor, is free from it. Three deadly poisons, among the most potent of all active vegetable principles, are obtained from some of the Bolanacea — namely, nicotia, from tobacco; dataria,from stamoninm, and atropia, from belladonna. One drop of pure nicotia will kill a large dog in a few minutes, and the other two are fatal iu minnte qnan- tities. — I>r. Harris, before Penn. Rort. Society.
■ • MISSOUEPS APPLE OBOP.
When the statement was pablished five or six months ago that the fruit crop of the State for 1890 was worth ten million dollars, and al- though coming from snch a reliable and close obseiver as Mr. L. A. Goodman, the Secretary of the State Horticnltnral society, it was re- garded with a great deal of doubt by many of our best posted men. The figures looked decidedly extravagant at the time, and may appear so today to a good portion of the producers, yet, in the light of the information coming to the surface daily, in view of what a few lead- ing points have done in the way of shipping and selling, we are bound to admit that the figures given form, not only a modest estimate, but actoally fall short of the correct value of the crop. We might go fur- ther and say that the apple crop alone was worth ten millions, and a
170 STATB HOETIOTTLTUEiL 8O0IKTT.
compilatioQ of the facts, which, b; the way, might be easily gathered by the frait-growers of the SUte for their annnal meeting next monlbr will show that snm consUtntes but a reasonable eatimate. The dried and evaporated fraite of themselves would in the aggregate bring a- millioQ dollars. Car after car came to this market over every road, each car bringing from $1,600 to $3,000. Other markets too were liberally patronized, Kansas City and Chicago B«caring a good deal of it. With more than doable the usnal price prevailing, a car of dried fmit amonnted to something.
Ad official of the C. & A. B. B., a part of whoae labor lay along^ that branch of the company's line peuetTating MiasoDri, and a fine apple region, took special pains to keep track of the movement of ap- ples, for his road took hnndreds of cars oat of (be State, possibly handling as many as any other railroad in the State daring the season^ This gentleman has not only compiled figures of shipments made over his road from Missouri, bat has also secured figures showing largely what the rival roads had been doing, and he has placed the crop of the State at 5,000,000 barrels. However, granting that his estimate was too liberal, it cannot be placed at less than 4,000,000 barrels, which must have averaged at least $2.50 per barrel, and here we see are the $10,000,000 as the value of the apple crop of the State, without any reference at all to the dried and evaporated output.
A few additional facts in this connection might be added here. Marshall, Mo., shipped 162 cars ; Boonville, 150 cars; Lexington, Cal> ifornia, Nevada, Independence, Columbia, Centralia, Salisbury, War- rensl'urg, Louisiana, and a hundred other leading shipping points^ forwarded a great nnmber of cars, and almost every miirket in lb© country was represented. A dozen cities were often represented in the same town. It was a great season for speculators, because the markets advanced without interrnption from the start, and prices are still going up, and few if any cars went out that did not make money for the owner. G. G. Bell, of Boonville, has been undoubtedly the apple king of the State for 1890. He handled the 160 cars that left Boonville, and hia rivals at other points figure his profits on the season's work at no less than $30,000, as he had fewer rivals to fight t^an any other speculator in the State, being especially favored by the merchants as well as the orchardists in that section while he was bay- ing and shipping.
As showing the profits in apples and how money was made during- the season just closing, a case at Marshall, Mo., might be cited. A gentleman named Bogers, &om St. Louis, was about the first bnyer oq the ground, appearing early in September at Marshall. He soon
MiaOBLLANBOVS PAPKBS. 171
parchased a very floe orchard for t2S0, one of the first sales made in that sectioD. A Buffalo man came along soon afterward and paid the St. Loais man $1,250 for the orchard. Several weeks later Earle Bros., of Chicago, who had by this time acqnfred a good appetite for apples, offered the Buffalo maD t3,000 for the fruit picked at the foot of the trees loose. The first buyer cleared $t,000 without lifting his hands, while the next man cleared much more, and ootside of a small deposit, no expenditure of time, money or labor was involved or ex- pended by either Incky investor — Colman'i Rural World.
"THE RURAL HEW YORKER POTATO KO. 2."
We have received the following instructive and interesting letter from a aabsoriber :
The smmll potato lent me by thn " The llural " two jekra ago was planted and yielded me 16 ponuda of tine potatoea. Tliey kept well and 1 plutted tbem the flth or Hay. I prepared a plot of gtavelly ground, 60 by 31 feet, b> plowing nnder one load of stable manure, and harrowing until It was thoroaRbly pulverized. 1 furrowed ont according to " The Koral " trench syatem, making tbe rows 3} feet apart. In the four-lnota deep trenches 1 acattered and thoroughly mixed with tbe ioU ' Stock bridge's potato manure ' and a little sulpbur. Tbe potatoes, wbich I cat Into one-eye pieces, I placed In tbe trencbes, flesh side down, 18 Inches apart, covering them two Inobes deep. In 10 days they were np nicely ; now I scattered on more fertillKer and fliled up the trenches. After another ID days I sowed bro&d- eaat between tbe rows more fertilizer, tbns using It st tbe rate of 1 ,000 pounds per acre. I kept tbe ground free from weeds and frequently cultivated until tbe vines covering tbe ground made tt Impoasible without injuring them. The potatoes were dug September 4, yielding IS bushels, or at tbe rate of 664 bushels per aore. There were very few among tbem as small as the one I received from "The R.N. Y," Many large ones weighed nearly two pounds each. They' were shapely and free from scab. As tbe; laid on tbe ground, an old hrmer passing by said It waa the greatest Bight he ever aaw.
C. H. Flbtcber, Chautauqua county, N. Y.
.y Google
ST1.TB HOBTIOULTIRAL BOCIBTTY.
THE MISSION OF THE OOUHTEY BOY,
This conotr; boy of Nazareth came forth to atone for the sine of the world and to correct thn follies of the world, and to stamp oat the cruelties of the world and lo illumine the darkness of the world, and to tranaflgure the hemisphere, spoke Dr. Talmage lu a recent sermon. So it has been the mission of the country boys in all ages to transform and inspire and rescne. Tfaey come into our merchandise and oar cocrt-rooms and our healing art and oar studios and our theology. They lived in Nazareth before tbey entered Jerusalem. And but for that annual influx, our cities would have enervated and sickened and sMn the r»ice. Late hoars and hartful apparel and overtaxed diges- tive organs and crowded environments of city life would have halted the world, but the valleys and mountains of Nazareth have ^ven a fVesh snpply of health and moral invigoration to Jerasalem, and the coantry saves the town. From the hills of New Hampshire and the hills of Vitgiuia and the hille of Georgia come into our national elo- quence the Webstere and the Clays and the Henry W. Gradys. From the plain homes of Massachnsetts and Maryland come into oar national charities the George Peabodys and the William Corcorans. From the cabins of the lonely conntry regions come into onr national destinies the Andrew Jacksons and the Abraham Lincolns. From the plowboy's farrow and village conater and blacksmith's forge come most of our ^ty giants.
NEW OR LITTLE KNOWN PLANTS.
THE PELICAN FLOWER t-«TT»ioioeAi« jjran-ii^o") The remarkable flower, one of the very largest known, reproduced in the illustrations of the present issue, was grown at Bordentown, New Jersey, by Mr. E. D. Sturtevant, who commanicates the following note with regard to it :
"About a year ago a wealthy amateur residing on the Hudson River sent me some vines under the name of the 'Duck-plant,' or 'Aristoloehia Pelican.' It was said to be new, and I was unable to And any description of it in the Gardeners' Dictionary or in the cata- logae of any narseryman. Upon inquiry at Kew I was informed that it was not in caltivatiou there, but that it had been described and
Dgnz's:;!-.', \_jV_;0'
Sle
MISOBLLANBOnS PAPBBfi. 173
figared in the Botaoical Magazine nnder the name of Aristolochia grandifiora or Pelican flower. This plant has proved easy of cnlU- vatioD and rapid in growth with me. In December of last year a yonag plant was placed in a good-sized box of rich soil in a warm green hoase. This plant in June had made a growth of twenty feet, and began flowering. Many bade are now (October lat) well devel- oped and one is open. At first sight the plant reminds one of a large Morning-Glory vine. The flower-bads, banging pendant in different stages of growth, form certainly one of the most remarkable sights in the veifetable world, and eannot foil to caase exclamations of wonder from, persons seeing them for the first time. The resemblance to the form of a dnck or pelican is very close, the head, bill, neck and body being plainly oatlined. The fully developed bad measares fifteen to eighteen iuchea in length, and is as large as a good-sized daok. This is exclosive of the long tail-like appendage. One flower fally ex- panded last June measnred twelve by eighteen inches, with forty-two inches of tail, making the total length sixty inches. At the time the bad opens the tail assames a spiral form, and appears to be intended aa a ladder for the use of insects seeking to reach the flower. The center of the flower appears like pnrple velvet, the inside of the throat being lined with hairs turned downward, and intended, apparently, to prevent the return of the insects caught within. The open flower, un- fortunately, emits a fetid and very disagreeable odor, bat this is not perceptible before it expands. I find that this plant flonrishes in good loam mixed with old manure or other fertilizers. It may be planted out in a warm green-bouse or^rown in a tub which can be kept in the open air during the summer, and taken in before frost." — Garden and Forest.
THE STRANGER ON THE SILL.
Between broad fleldi of wbe&t and corn Ib the lowly bome where I was born ; The peaob tree leani against the wall And the woodbine wanders over all ; There Is (be shaded doorway etUl, But a stranger's foot bas crossed the sill.
There Is the barn, and, as ot ;ore, I can tmell the hay ttom tbe open door, And see tbe busy swallows throng And hear tt>e pewee'e mournful song ; But tbe stranger comes — oh I painful proof- Hie Bheaves are piled to the heated roof.
D.|nz..byG00glC
STATB HORTIODLTTTEAI. BOCIETT.
Then Is th« orch&rd— i^^h« veiy trees Wliere mj childbood knew long bonre of eue, And watcbed tbe Bbadowf moments run I'ill my life Imbibed more Bbade tban sun : The awing from tbe bough Btlll sveept the air, Bat tbe stranger'a oblldren are swiaglog tbere.
There bubbles the shad^ spring below.
With Its bulrush brook where the ba/els grow ;
'Twas there I found tbe okUmng root,
And watch tbe mlnnowg poise and shoot.
And heard the robin lave Its wing,
But the strsiiger's bucket is at the spring.
O je, who dally eroas the alll.
Step llgbtlj, for I love It still;
And when joa crowd tbe old bam eaves, .
Then thlnli what oountleas harvest eheavei
Have passed within that scented door
To gladden eyes that are. no more I
Deal klndlf with these orchard trees. And when yoar children crowd their knees, Their sweetest f^lt thej- shall Impart, As if old memorlei stirred tbelr heart ; To^onthful sports stlU leave tbe swing, And In sweet reverence bold tbe spring.
The ham, the trees, tbe brook, the birds. The meadows, with tbelr lowing herds, The woodbine on the cottage wall — U7 heart still Ungers with then all ; Ye strangen on my native still, ^ Step lightly, for 1 love it stlU!
— T/umtaa BveAanan Rrad.
LIQUID MANURE FOR POTTED PLANTS.
Honse-pIaDts do not, aa a rule, flow«r freely nutU their pots are filled with roota, or, as it is QSnally termed, they are "pot-bonnd." When this is the case, the soil soon becomes exhausted, and the plant has nothing to feed npon. In snch cases, recourse must'be had to re* potting with fresh Boil, or applications of liquid maoare. The latter is decidedly to be preferred, aa, in repotting, the plants are liable to re- ceive a check, either ttom root disturbance, or firom a new growth con- sequent npou the new couditione in tbe supply of plant food. When a plant is ready to bloom, all that is neceasary is to famish food safll-
MISOGLLANBOTIS PAPBBS. 175
cient to develop the flowers. At this period the plant reBeuta dlstarb- aace, and requires sastenance. This can in no way be so well applied as by liquid maDores. All free-fiowering plants, snch as geraniums, petnnias, callas and oxalis, are greatly benefited by this treatment
It may be nrged that, in the use ot liqaid manure for house- plants, a disagreeable odor may arise. But, if applied in weather that will permit of &ee Tentilation by openiQg the windows, this will very soon pass off. In extreme cold weather, commercial fertilizers can be used. In this case a tablespoonfal to a pail of water will be amply sufiBcient. Tbis should be prepared at least a day in advance, as some of the chemicals used are not readily dissolved in water — simply held in sns- pension— and to be used by the plants as required. From the use of liquid manures, in some form, satisfactory results are sure to follow.
Fresh fmits should be cooked with boiling water. As sugar is rendered no more solable, palatable, digestible or nutritious by cook- ing, and is, in the presence of some acids, changed to glncose by the heat, consequently is much less sweety it should be added only long enough to dissolve nicely, before removing the tmii ftom the fire. Dried &uit should be washed and then soaked in cold water until no longer wrinkled in appearance, but antil it has imbibed sufficient water to give the original rounded form, then cooked slowly in the water in which it was soaked. If cooked rapidly iu boiling water without first being soaked, the cells are hardened by the heat and lose the power of imbibing water, and the frait comes to the table unsightly, unpalatable and indigestible.
ONLY A EOSE.
The following little story from the " Youth's Companion " is so full of pathos and truth and the lesson to be learned is so good, that we pnblisb it for the benefit of those who have been blessed with plenty, but have never learned the tnie road to happiness: "A few years ago a lady living in the city retamed one evening from the country, where she had been spending the day, with a large basket of roses. As she approached her own house a ragged, dirty boy followed her with such wistful eyes that she gave him a rose. Before her door was opened he was beside her again with two other grimy boys. " Ef yoa
176 STATB HOETIOULTUBAL SOCIETT.
plaze, mem, ye'U not be bavin' one to spare for tbem f " pointing to his companions. " If the; bad been bnngry and asking for bread," sbe said afterward, "they conid not have watched me with more eager- ness. When I banded them the roses they all gave a shoat and darted away. In fifteen minntes the steps were almost filled with children, pale, ragged, starved little creatures. I do not know where they came from ; they seemed to swarm oat of the earth. I gave tbem the roses and all the flowers in my little garden, ashamed to think bow many I bad and how little I had valued them, while they were sach priceless treaanres to these children. MoBt of the children ran 'home' with their flowers as if H had been rare jewels. Later in the evening another poor little wfuf rang the bell to know 'if this was the house where they gave away flowers.' I determined then that, with Ood's help, it always sboold be." Oot of this chance gift of a rose grew the flower mission of one of oar great cities. Ko one, who has not carried flowers or growing plants into the slams of oar cities, can know the delight which a common field daisy or a banch of clover can give to their wretched inmates.
A little incident which occarred this sammer has a certua signifi- cant pathos of its own. A yoang girl one day bought ttom an oM negro on the sidewalk a bunch of purple water-flags. Going into a small trimming shop, she observed that the saleswoman eyed tbem intently. "What are those flowers, miss I" she asked. "I never saw them before, but I think they must be the flags my mother talks aboat that grew on the creek near her old home in Delaware. She's never seen any since." " Give them to her," said the customer, kindly. The woman tried to thank her, bnt the words choked her. " She's old and very sick," she said at last. '' She wont be here long." A month later the yonng girl went into the same shop again. The shop girl, dressed in shabby black, came to her. " She kept those dowers by her for ten days — as long as she lived," she whispered. " She tbonght they came from her old home. When I pat her in her cotBn I laid tbem by her. There was a little color in them yet. They had given her so much pleasure, I thought I'd like to have them go with her still." It is not necessary to beloug to a dab or organization to joia in this beautiful charity. Any child who lives in the couatry can send a box of wild flowers to her friend in town, and these, if taken into the nearest court or alley, will become a missionary charged with Qod's message of good will and love. Flowers are his free gift to man. Pood, clothes, even knowledge, we must work for and bay, but flowers grow for the beggar on the wayside. Shall we not carry His gift to our poor brother imprisoned in city walls, who has not received itt "
MISCBLLAHBOUS PAPBES. 177
We have jabt received a sketch of the life and aeivices to Ameri- c&Q iLorticnltare of the late Peter Henderson, which was read before the Xew York Florists' club by Mr. A. D. Cowan. One of the inter- esting facts brought oat in this paper is that when " Gardening for Profit " was prepared, Mr. Heuderson was occapied with hia basinesB for sixteen hoars a day, and the book was written in the short noon intervals and in the small night hours. The author wrote lying on his back vith bis head bolstered up to rest his body while his active mind kept at work. We quote this not so mach to show Mr. Henderson's industry and energy as to call attenlion to the fact that this most suc- cessful of all his books, and probably the most useful work on market gardening ever published, was written directly from the author's per- soual and daily esperieuce. Perhaps this will help to account for its high practical valne. — Garden and Forest.
TREE LABELS.
Sir Joshua Reynolds, when asked how he would paint a picture of folly, said he would represent a boy climbing over a high and difficult fence, with an open gate close at hie side. We are reminded of this by the frequent directions often given, in English as well as American journals, for the construction of costly and elaborate wired tree-labels, while the simple, cheap and durable zinc Tabels have been repeatedly described during past years. A small strip cut from scrap sheet zinc, the name near one end, and the other end coUed once around a side branch, vtll remun perfect many years. The name is written on the slightly rusted zinc with a common lead pencil, and will last exposed to the weather half a century, — Country Gentleman.
Shall we throw away the seed ends of potatoes t Eefereuces to flies of the R. N. Y, will show the resnlls of our own experiments to solve this much-mooted question. Mr. Taft, the horticulturist of the Michigan station, cut his tubers transversely into st«ms, middles and end pieces. The conclusion is arrived at that the seed end is as valu- able for planting as any other portion of the tnber.
Whole potatoes used for seed yielded 293 bushels per acre, halves 317, quarters 264, eighths 221, single eyes 178.
s B — 12 I
178 STATE HOETICULTURAL 8O0IBTT.
Mr. Taft, for wbole tuber seeding, used oeatly 42 bnshels to the acre; for baJf-potato seed, 20i; for quarter-eeediiig, 10 bneliels. Tu- bers cat into eighths reqaired 5 bnsbels 44 ponnde ; single eyes, 4 bush- els 10 ponnds. The seed was dropped 1 by 3i feet apart.
The half of a large potato, of a medium size^i vhole one of the same weight as the half — which is best for seed 1
Here is Mr. Taft's report :
Yield Qaftlltj of seed, per acre.
'Whole tubete wotghlDg4j oz 00 bnehelB STO bufibels.
Whole tubers welgblDg 3i OS U " 361 "
Half tubere welgbl ng 1 j oz 22 " 433 * '
Wbole tubers weighing Ifoz 22 " 349} ' '
Hslf tubers welghiag i oz II " 809} ' '
Single eye, cut deep I'SJ "
THE MERITS OF WOOD ASHES.
Id an essay read before the American Horticnitaral society at the Cleveland (Ohio) meeting a few years ago, Mr. J. M. Smith gave an ac- cooQt of the means employed for the prevention of the evil effects of a prolonged drouth. Among these means a free nse of wood ashes was named as one of the aimpleBt and most effective.
Becently Mr. Smith has made a comparative test of the effects of wood ashes and barn-yard manure on a acale large enoagh to show restilts that are more than an "indication." Two acres lying side by side were treated exactly alike in every respect, except that one was manured with unleached wood ashes aud the other with stable maunre. Mr. Smith reports the results of the trial to the "Prairie Farmer" as fol- lows:
The acre fertilized with ashes yielded 51 bushels the most, and if there was any difference in quality it wan in favor of those that had the ashes. !Now, the fair inference would be that the ashes were mach the best manure for potatoes. Letns look a little further: The last half of May and the first half of June were wet and cold, and bo for the two acres seemed to keep just about even. After June 15 the weather became veiy dry, and there was little rain upon the plants nntil they were ripe. Very soon after the ground began to get dry, it could be plainly seen that those manured from the compost-beap were safferiug from want of rain, while those mannted with ashes were growing very rapidly. This continned until they were ripe.
uCoo<^le
MISCBLLANEOnS PAPEBS. 179
The simple fact ie, potAtoes or Btrawberries mannred with ashes stand droath that would be ruinoaa to crops feitilized with any mattare I have ever tried. To this fact I attribnte the failure of the compost- heap acre to hold its own with the acre apon which ashes were aeed. I have tried the experiment many times, always with precisely the same result, provided we had a dry season daring the growth of the crop. I do not know bat the rale will bold good with all f^rm and garden crops, bat with the above-named there >b no doabt. I do not nader- rate ashes as luaaore. I have nsed them in preference to any fertilizer I coald get for potatoes, many years. — Popular Gardening.
PLAHTAIN-IVT P0IS05T.
At this timely seaeoa the "Karal New Yorker" wants information as to ivy poison and the " cares" for it. I am a good subjeet to exper- iment on, for 1 get poisoned if I look at it, and I get it "bad." I was laid up for nine weeks, all told, with it last summer. Now for cures : First a doctor treated me with sugar of lead ; it worked " beautifnllj," the lead and ivy worked like a team, and it took me six weeks to get well. Then lobelia was tried ; it felt really nice, bat as for as any effect went, I could feel none. I was advised next time to slake some lime, and when the stuff got cold, soak my band in it. I did so, and so far as effect was concerned, it was like the lobelia. The next doctor was more "advanced." He said: "Use iodine freely." I did — very free- ly, and the skin came clean off in aboat twelve boors. It was then only a burn, and that healed in a week, while the ivy undisturbed usu- ally took three. Here was progress, bat it was severe treatment, and quite painful, so next time I decided to do as a friend advised, and try St. Jacob's oil. If osed freely and promptly, I fonnd that it killed much of the trouble ; but the worst spots went through their regular coarse. This brings me to the latter part of last summer. Both my hands were badly poisoned when I met two boys on the road, who kindly told me I was a fool to stand that pain wheu it could be cnred in a day. I allowed Ihem to " doctor" one hand, so that I could make comparison. They took a small bunch of the leaves of the common plantain, that grows everywhere; grated the banch on a stone until the sap flowed freely, then rubbed my left hand with it until it was green with sap. I was told to wash it next morning, and if it needed it, rub the stuff on again. It did not need it, for the hand was practl-
180 STATB HOETICULTUEAI, SOOIBTT.
cally well. Still I did pat some on ooe or two places where it had been very bad, and that "fixed" Ihem, At the same time I rubbed the sap on my right hand, and in twenty^four hours I coald use it freely. I have been poisoned twice since then, and this remedy has given instant relief and speedy cure.
THE PLANE TREE.
The Platantis is Indeed a most eccentric and extraordinary tree, as one sees it in Persia. It enjoys water-courses and shady valleys, and it grows in the desert far ftom water with equal satisfaction appar- ently and with eqval graudenr. It is by far.the noblest tree of Central and Western Asia in its form and dimensions. The Plane tree under which Godfrey of Bonillou encamped liy the Bosphoms, is still stand- ing, a most venerable and gigantic palriarch. Kot many years ago a aimilar tree was standing in Asia Minor, which was reputed to be tho tree which Xerxes decorated on his way to Greece Garden and For- est.
A LIVING INSECT TRAP.
Not a single creeping, crawling or hopping thing is to be seen in oar tomato hot-bed of four sashes, except one toad, which in reality is nothing else than a wandering (hopping) insect trap, and gobbles up every hapless small creature that gets into it. Of course we make a- pet of our living insecticide, and have almost learned to admire ita handsome color, and its intelligent eye. Sometimes we give it an es- pecially dainty morsel, such as a large May beetle, or even a potato beetle, a centipede, etc. Our guest takes them all with equal gratitude and appetite. There can be no doubt that toads may be colonized and put to good use in cucumber, melon and squash patches. At any rate we intend to assign to them the duty and lesponsiblity of keeping the vines free from bugs this year, and it will be safer to trust lo their watchfulness than to depend on poisonous appUcations.
Following are lists of some of the more pleasing flowering trees, shrubs and plants, classified according to their season of bloom :
Earliest Flowebing, usually befoee iikY.— Shrubs — Mezerou Pink, Forsytbia or Golden Bell. Ptants— Winter Aconite, Hellebore^ Snowdrops, Crocus, Pansies in frames.
UI8CBLLANBOU8 PAPERS. 18l
Hat AND June Bloohbbs — Trees — Magnolias, Bed Bad orJndas Tree, White Dogwood, Horee Cliestnat, Yellow Wood or Oladastris, Snowy Mespilns, Bird Cherry, Locasts, Thorns, Flowering frnit trees. S\rvhi — Carrant, Azaleas, Bash Honeysnckle, Japan Quince, Lilacs, Flowering Plain and Almond, Early Spirees, VibaruaniH, Tamarisk, Galycantbns, Deatzia, Mock Orange or Syringia, Boees, Weigelas, Cle- matis. Plants — Talipe, Hyacinthe, Narcissns, Peonies, Columbines, Lily of the Valley, Garden Pinks, Hepatica, Creeping Phloxes, Herba- ceone Spines, Violets, Crown Imperials, Bleeding Heart, Oriental Pop- pies, Lychnis, Periwinkle.
SUMMEE AND EARLY AUTtTMN BLOOMKES IVfl«— ChestDOt,
Kolrenteria, Sumachs. Skrubt — Altbea or Bose of Sharon, Clethra, Japan Corchorns, Panicle-fiowered Hydrangeas, Late Bpirses, Smoke Bash, Trnmpet Vine. Planta — Monkshood, Milfoil, Japan Anemones, Golden-eparred Columbine, Campanulas; Sweet Williams, Plantain Lily, Day Lily, True Lilies in variety, Hollyhocks, Spiderwerts, Sun-flowers, Annuals, Tender Plants.
Atteaction in Fall and Wihtbe. — IV««— Evergreens, White- foarked Birches. Shrvia — Box and other Dwarf Evergreens, Burning Bash, Barberry, Waxberry, Witch Hazel. Plants — Chrysanthemums, Hellebores.
EABLT THINNISG OP FEUIT ESSENTIAL.
The honicultarist of the Missouri Experiment station has made aome analyses of apples during the different periods of their growth, which show that macb the greater proportion of the ash is stored np in the early part of the growth of the fruit. This is urged as an additional reason for thinning as soon as the wormy^nd imperfect spe- cimens of the fruit can be distinguished. A barrel of large and perfect apples takes a smaller amount of mineral plant food from the soil thaa a barrel of small inferior frait. The apples on an acre of ground where the trees stand thirty feet apart and yield ten bushels of fruit to the tree, take from tbe soil more than 43 pounds of potash. This sug- gests the use of ashes, or of the potash salts, as a dressing for or- chards.— Popular Gardening.
There are no roses that are likely to prove of more value to those florists who need plants to flower outside daring tbe summer months than the old varieties Malmaison and Dachees de Brabant. Good plants of these from 4-inch pots planted outside in May will astonish many by the profusion and quality of the flowers that they will pro-
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_'V_V
\gk
182 BTATK H0ET10UI.TUKAL SOOIBTT.
dace. Attend to them, and th?y will well repay the labor and care expended upon them. Duchess de Brabant is of particnlar valne as »■ plant for spring sales in pot«. There is no rose that can earpass it in this respect, very few that can eqnal it. — Alfred E. Whittle tn American- Fluritt.
Pruning the bashes is a part of rose culture in which many grow* ers make their greatest mistake. We refer especially to the annual pruning, which is best done in March or early April. All kinds must be pruned when planted.
In the case of Hybrid Perpetnals, a proverb of " spare the knife and spoil the bush " is decidedly apt, as the best resulte cannot be- obtained nnless the knife is freely need in the spring. Tbe operation of pmning is a most simple one. Cut away all weakly growth, and cutting back the strong stems to five or sereti eyes, keeping this in mind, that the weaker t'te growth the more closely it should be cut back. Another consideration is the size and tbe number of the flowers desired ; the closer the cutting, beuce the less buds remaining^ the larger will be the tlowers ; if quantity is the object theu more buds- shoold be left. Some kinds of Hybrid Perpetnals should be pruned aftef their first crop of flowers to induce the driving of flowering wood, for autnmn. — Popular Qardming.
AGBICULTUBAL APHORISMS.
Dont rent more land than 7011 well can work ; Don't hope to succeed if f on love to ablrk ; Don't think jou will ever get through learning; DoD't think that Having 1b lesB than earning ; Don't starve your Htook nor o'erwork jour hands ; Don't expect good crops Ifyou starve your lands ; Don't use poor tools nor let good ones rust ; Don't aBk yoar neighbor for time nor trust ; DoD't make a debt when jou know you can't pay It ; Don't make a poor rule lest none will obey It ; Don't get behind lest you work In haate; Don't let money, time or manure waste ; Don't atlnt your home to help swell the banks; Don't M.\ to give for a favor, thanka ; Don't spend your time at tbe corner store : Don't give a little, expecting more ; Don't hope tbe Lord will award you pelf.
by Google
MISOELLANBOUS PAPBB8.
Till foa make an effort to help yourself; Don't hope nor expect a bappj' life. Till foa treat as well as joar lioree, your wlfs ; Don't growl, don't whine, don't cheat, don't lie, And till yon have done your part— don't die,
— Co(ma»i'» Rural World.
PEOPLE WILL TALK.
You may set through the world, bat 'twill be very slow If you listen to all that la said as you go. You'll be worried, and fretted, and kept In a stew, Ab meddlesome tongues must have something to do ; For people will talk.
If quiet and modest, you'll fanve It presumed That yoot bumble position Is only assumed ; You're a wolf In sheep's clothing, or else you're a fool. But don't get excited— keep perfectly cool. For people will talk.
And then If you show the least boldness of heart, Or a slight IncllDBtlon to take your own part. They will call you an upstart, conceited and vain. Bat keep straight ahead- don't stop to esplidn. For people will talk.
If threadbare your dress, or old-fashioned your hat. Someone will surely t»ke notice of that. And hint rather strong that you can't pay your way ; But don't get excited, whatever they say, For people will talki
If yon dress In the fashion don't think to escape. For they orltlolse then in a different shape : You're ahead of your means, or your tailor's unpaid ; But mind your own business— there's naught to be toade, For people will talk.
KEEPING CUT FLOWERS.
Tbere are two importaat pointa — to keep the water pure and to cut o£f the ends of the Btems as they hardeo. The water may be kept pare by &eqaeDt change, but it is easier to nse some antiBeptic — am- monia, nitrate of soda, or salicylic acid. The iBstnamed is the best Be careful not to nse too maoh. The ends of the stems should be ot
184 STATE HOETICULTTIRiL SOCIKTT.
off each morDing, at least, as they harden and close the sap vesselB, and water cannot be absorbed ; and also, the ends of the etems should not rest on the bottom of the vessel. The veesel should be so large that the stems are not crowded in it. The flowers can be kept longer by removing them from the vessel over nighty sprinkling them nntil quite damp, and wrapping them in several thicknesaes of paper or pat- ting them in a pasteboard box, and placing them in a cool place. Flow- ers may be revived by catting off the ends of the stems and placing them for ten minutes in water almost boiling hot, then in cold water to remain, — American Agriculturist.
In many French villages boards are set ap, bearing the following instractions : "Hedgehog: Lives upon mice, snails and wire-worms, animals injarioas to agricultnre. Don't kill a hedgehog. Toad : Helps agricnltare ; destroys twenty to thirty insects honrly. Don't kill a toad. Cockchafer and its larvse : Deadly enemies to farmers ; lays seventy to one hundred eggs. Kill the cockchafer. Birds : Each department of France loses yearly many millions of francs through the injury done by insects. Don't kill the birds."
DOUBLE-FLOWERED CHINESE PLUM.
(Prunus triloba.J There are but few more beautifnl hardy flower- ing shrubs than this, yet one seldom meets with it. For small gardens it has special value, as it does not grow to a large size, forming, when grown as a standard, a dwarf-spreading head. For this reason, when placed in shrubberies where vigorous growing trees abound, it should be brought well to the front, where, in early spring when crowded witJi blossoms, it forms a conspicuous object. In the alaodard form, indeed, it well deserves a position on the grass ; but it should, if possible, get some shelter, for rough winds and heavy rains damage the expanded flowers. It may also be grown in bush form, and it is really admirable for forcing under glass in winter,, as it flowers freely in pots in a small state, and rcQuires bat little heat to induce it to open its blooms. The same plants may be need year after year if carefully hardened off, plunged or planted ont, and well fed in summer, bat it is better to have two sets, allowing one year to recuperate. — J. 0.
by Google
MIBCBLLANB0D8 FAPBB8.
HOT WA.TEK VS. STEAM.
Prof. L, B. Taft of the Agricnltaral college of Michigan has aUo made Bome comparative tests of the hot water and eteam eysteme for heating green-houses, Trhich corroborate Prof. Maynard's conclusions that the hot water system is less expensive, aod consequently prefer- able. The records kept of the two test green-honaes on the college groBDds show that daring January the hot water house averaged 1.5 degrees warmer than the stcam-beated bonse, and to secure this it re- quired 675 poands of coal less than was used in the eteam heater. Id Febroary the water bonse averaged one degree warmer tban the other, and the cosl used was 625 pounds less. Altogether, Prof. Taft feels justified by these results to say that while the old metliod of piping for water beating with four-inch cast-iron pipes was nndonbtedly less econo- mical than steam heating, the present system of water heating with small pipes will certainly prove more satisfactory in everyway for houses less than 100 feet in length. — Popular Gardening.
POISONING THE ENGLISH SPARROW.
A recent report of the Department of Agriculture cootains the fol- lowing recipe : Dissolve an ounce of arseniate of soda in a pint of warm water; pour this apon as much wheat as it will cover (in a ves- sel to prevent evaporation), and soak twenty-four hours. Dry the wheat so prepared and it is ready tor use. The sparrow sbonld be baited for several days previously with good wheat, and the poisoned wheat sub- atitnted at the same place and time. The utmost care must be used in administering poison of suy kind to sparrows, and any person or ani- mal eating the dead sparrows are liable to be fatally poisoned. — Popu- lar Oardening.
CALIPOKNIA FLOWERS.
The average bouquet called ttom the garden consists of too many flowers ; it is a crowded mass of bloom instead of a charming nosegay in which the individual flowers show to the beet advantage. That the crowding of the material in any flower arrangement is a mistake is easily susceptible of proof. Let the reader take a liberal quantity of bloom and arrange it in a single large bunch ; then take an exactly
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_V
igle
186 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
similar lot and divide it iuto two or three bouquets, spreading tli& flowers somewhat so as to h»ve the ontliues of each aboat equal in size to first oae made, and note the saperior results from an equal quantity of flowers, says "Popular Gardening." This t«st, however,, presupposes the use of ordinary garden blooms cut with long stems, some of them to be very long, say eighteen inches or two feet in length. This is a point in itself not safficientlj appreciated. For to arrange advantageously one should employ an abundance of long stems. Indeed, if such stems are naturally lacking, it may be well to follow the florists and provide suitable artificial sterna. In the making of every kind of bouqnets we may take some most useful lessons from the commercial florist VThere flowers have a money value it of course increases the profits to be able to make any given quantity go as far as possible, and yet the spreading out of blooms may be carried tar with no disadvantage to the buyer. The ideal bouquet has every flower uDcrowded.
Where tbe stems of flowers are short, or the object is to tie a flat or rounded hand-bouquet, bow is one to proceed in spreading the blooms 1 Let us watcb the commerciial florist tie up a nosegay. lu the first place, if any flowers are too slender to be stiffly supported by their own stems, or the stems of which are very short, he supplies » wire to make up the deficiency ot nature. Then he commences his bouquet by selecting a good, bold flower, such as a rose, lily or oamelia for the center, which he winds with strong thread onto a thin, stiff twig. Around this center flower he then places a few leaves, and out- side of these, to be an inch or two below the flower, he binds sufficient moss so that when a circle of flowers is added, they will not unduly crowd or overlap the first flower. It is usual to start with smaller individuals or trasses of flowers in this front line outward, and place a few light sprays of bloom between them to stand out boldly above the regular surface ; next another ring of moss is bound on the center stem, after which more green is applied and another circle of flowers and of projecting sprays. In this manner the bouquet is proceeded with until a suitable size is reached, when it may be finished by the addition of an edging of pleasing foliage, as smilax, fern, rose or camelia leaves.
In the making of a bouquet thus, the use of a variety of flowers is assumed. But the style now very much and very sensibly in vogue is the use of but a single kind of flowers in a bouquet ; it may be of roses^ sweet peas, mignonette, violets, pansies, tulips, lilies, or other kinds. In this case the course to employ for preventing crowding is not dissimilar from that we quoted. Buttoavoida stiff and monotonous appearance in the boquet, pains must be taken to have some flowers stand out con-
HI80ELLANB0US FAPEB8. 1S7
siderably bejont) the others and yet not be crowded, a matter easily effected by the ase of plenty of moBB back of the ioner line of flowers^ for keeping the arraDgemest open. A very haudsome style of boaqaet is ooe in which several shades of the same flower are used, arranging them ufaiformiy in lines crosswise. We allade to the nse of the datkest shade on one side of the bouqnet and then grading in the line of next darkest, and so on in snccession to the lightest on the further or oppo* Bite aide. A similar style may be employed in makingan upright anchor^ cross or other floral design Boitable for a fnneial. For instance, it may be the desire to make a harp of pansies alone. After gathering the flowers, grade them according to color and shade. Then in their nse begin with the lightest ones at the bottom and proceeding with the va- rions saccessiTe shades in regalar order to complete the entire piece, ending with the darkest, even if it be black pansies, at the top. What- ever the nature of any piece of flowers, it shoold have some kind of edging or setting of gree'n. — California Fruit- Grower.
THE BIGGEST APPLE TREE OST EARTH.
The Boston Jonmat says the largest apple tree in Kew England,, and probably in the world, is in the northwestern part of Cheshire^ Conn., standing in Mr. Delos Hotchkiss' dooryard. Its age can be traced by a family tradition to 110 years at least, and it may be twenty or twenty-five years older.
It ia at the present time of symmetrical shape ; the trunk is nearly round, without a scar or blemish on it ; there are eight large branches five of them have been in the habit of bearing one year and the other three the next. Mr. Hotchkiss has gathered in one year from the five» branches eighty-flve bushels of fi-oit, and his predecessor had harvestet- a crop of 110 basbels from the same five branches.
By cai-eful measurement, the circumference of the trunk one foot above the ground, above all enlargements of the roots, is thirteen feet eight inches. The height of the tree has been carefully measured and foand to be sixty feet, and the spread of the branches, as the apples &11, is 100 feet or six rods. The fruit jis rather small, sweet, and of moderate excellence. But only think uf it : 85 bushels of apples in one year from a single tree, and 110 bushels from another. This noble old tree has no peer, thus far, in the apple tree history of this or any other coantry.
.y Google
BTATB H0BTICT7LTDR1.L BOCIBTT.
TASTE AND TACT IN ARRANGING GROUNDS.'
[The following plan, taken from " Popnlar Gardening." I consider of BufHclent value to give us some tbonghts In regard to laying off oar grounds. The cnt bas been kindly loaned qb bj tbe publiabers of tbat Journal. A little study of 'sacb a plan will belp any one who wUbes to iraprove tbeir home, — Sbcbetarv.J SBOOND PAPER.
Onr second article in this serial, relates to tb« home groands of s New York State &arsrrymBD. This gentleman sent to os tbe npper £ketcli of grounds, annexed, with a request for an; saggestionB on im-
i-
MISCELLANEODB PAPEB8. 189
proving the Bame which it might occar to ns to submit. It is a pleasure- to comply with this request, for if there is one class more than another whom we are glad to see interested in tastefally improving their groands, it is the nurserymen.
Indeed, bat little argument is needed to uhow that not only every norseryman, bnt every florist and seedsman as well, should follow ttie example of the present applicant, to the extent of providing, as his op- portunities will allow, a fine object- lesson in ornamental gardening, for the good of the public in his respective locality. These men sell trees, vines, plants and seeds to ©there ; they Bhould show others by example how effectively to use such embellishing materials. Not only should their grounds, be handsomely arranged, but the growing of many speci- men trees and shrubs, which are now largely unknown to planters, should receive mnch attention, with a view to scquaiuting the pnblic with such. They should aiso undertake, by liberal and judicious lead- ership, to influence public sentiment tov ard improving the public high- ways, cemeteries, parks, squares, school grounds, etc.
61aneing over the upper plan as submitted by our ftiend, it is at once seen that here there is considerable room for improvement. The- . place, as it now is, presents a certain poverty of garden expression and lack of pleasing features. An exception is found in the carved hedge of hemlock, which extends from the office to the highway, and this is retained in the new plan. The merit of this boldly-curving hedge- liee is its relieving, very decidedly even here, the numerous straight lines and angles which, at present, constitate one of the chief faults of these grounds.
In the lower plan we endeavor to show how, without discarding,. or even varying greatly the position or coarse of any principal element of the garden, there may be secured a strong preponderance of grace- tn\ curves and Irregularity throughout. As is commonly the case in gardens, there already exists in this one, in the boundary and building outlines, more straight lines and angles than is conductive to pleasing garden effects. The object therefore must be, instead of increasing this characteristic, by embodying these into the walks, drives and other features, to take a reverse course, so that the fixed lines and angles may be subdued in effect. How easily this can be done in the present case is shown by the details of the lower plan.
Take the drive-way and walks for instaucc, and it is seen that with but slight curves introduced, they may be nearly as direct in their coarse as are the old straight ones, while being far handsomer in con- tributing to garden beauty.
Again, to have the front yard divided by a straight walk through its center, and then each division centrally occupied by a ronnd flower
190 BTATB HORTIOULTUEAL SOCIETY.
bed, is Dot nearly as pleaeiDg to the eye as to liave the plat or plats nnoccnpied at the center. Let it be laid down ae a fuDdamental prin- ciple in all good gardening, to which there are very few exceptions, that for the best appearance, the centers of all lawn areae should be kept clear of walks or other featares beeidee grass.
To the average reader it might appear that trees and sbmbs are -snggeated almost to excess for nse tbroughont the grounds. This is not trne, especially in the present instance, as ihe owner desired pro- Tisiou for many specimen ornamental trees and growths throaghont. Bnt in any case where the principle here illustrated is observed, namely to keep the plantings largely toward the margins of the different plata and of the gronnds in general with the centers of the grass areas open, there is little danger of introdacing too many ti-ees, shrubs and plants BO far as appeaiauces go. The cost of the stock, planting and main- taining might be an objection in the minds of some, but it oaght not to be to a nurseryman. If all the improvements cannot be completed in one season, it is yet well to work on a comprehensive plan, doing a portion of the work each year until all is accomplished.
The plan of arranging the shrubs, plants and trees mainly in groapg is one almost always to be recommended. Numbers in a mass, espe- cially of shrubs and plants, contribute boldness and character in a degree not attainable by scattering the same about singly. In the ar- rangement here shown, if judgment and taste are bestowed on tbe selection, the masses of shrubs, flowers and rock-work indicated by 7, 0, 11 should contribute a most attractive part to the garden. Tbe heavy masses of flowering ehmbe through which the entrance to the grounds at 1 is made, afford a charming introdncllon to the home and its garden.
With locating some choice evergreens at 13, 13, an abundance of shrubs and handsome trees along tbe western boundary near the resi- dence, a tree grove in the southeast portion of the grounds, and having the beautiful earring hemlock hedge at one extreme side, nierced by a passage- way leading to the fruit plat 8, and plats occupied with a profusion of sbmbs and flowers at 7, 9, It, as referred to above, and an abundance of other choice natural material scattered over the place, and a vine arbor spanning the walk at 5, with the open lawn areas affording pleas- ant vistas in many directions, and gracefully winding drive-way and ■ walks throughout the grounds, altogether there would be provided in the present subject tbe elements of a most beautiful, complete and well-balanced garden, one that coald not fail to impart endless charms to its owner and to all beholders.
•Copyright 1890, by " Popular Gardening " Pub. Co., Buffalo, N. Y,
MI80BLLAMB0US PAPERS. 191
The " Sew Xork Herald " received the following question : I am a country boy. I came from a farm In New Hampehlre to New York, -with the hope of making a rame and a fortune. Either the fame or the fortune 'would aatiaff mc< bat I prefer both If they are within reach. Will yon kindly tell me how I can carve out tor mveelf a «ncce«sful career i
In the conrBe of its inatrnctive reply Ihe "Herald" asks: Is a snrplue of cash the prime factor in the problem of bappineee, and is a -citizen's TiBefalness to be tueasttred by bie bank accoant solely 1 Yoa may also get the fame yon wish. It depends on yonr edncation, on the ■qnantity and qnality of yonr brains and on joni native genius. With these, everything is possible ; withont them, you will everlastingly hun- ger for the unattainable, and in the end draw the coverlid of a wasted life over your head and die a disappointed man. Don't make any mis- take in this matter. If yon wish to get out of life all there is in it — for jou — there is a way to do it. Keal happiness consists of health, self- respect, the good-will of the commnnity and a stifflcient income to gratify yonr reasonable wants. Everything else is trivial and not worth bothering about. The man who has steady work, fair wages, a cosy home, enough to eat, a thick overcoat, and the conscionsness of personal integrity, is a mightily favored fellow, in possession of more than three- quarters of the best tkings which this world affords. If yon are mechanic, or artisan, or farmer, be proud of yourself, and the rest of the world wUl soon come to be proud of yoa. Nothing is needed «o mach in this generation as a man with skilled fingers. You may have a long pnll, but the clock will strike an unexpected hour, and the ■opportunity — which comes to eveiybody in turn, but which most peo- ple miss — will present itself. Study the bnll-dog, and when you get your teeth into a big thing, let them stay there. Save money. The coward runs in debt, the brave man has a $5 surplus in his pocket. "The world may laugh at you because you can't have a fonr-in-hand neck-tie. All right, let it laugh. Ton are your own world, and the peo- ple who sneer tire simply outside barbarians. When they see that $5 "bill growing bigger, they will all want to shake bands with yon and aend'you to Congress. Keep well within your income, and you will save yourself from skulking round the comer like a kicked dog when the dun is on your track. The handiest thing on the planet is the penny laid up for a rainy day. Kow, young sir, get rid of tbe nonsense that you are a genius, settle down to the conclusion that yon are just an average ■ Korth American boy, and then start in. Keep yourself alert, look after your digestive apparatus, don't smoke cigarettes, get to bed early, he square-toed in ail yonr dealings, and we will wager a cookie that at sixty yon will have to look backward for those who be- gan the race when yon did. Are yon ready T Then, Go I — Rural 2f. T.
BTATB HORTICDLUEAL SOCIBTTT.
WHEN TO PRUNE APPLE OECHAEDS.
Eds. Gounibt Gentleman — ThiB is a Babject on which a great variety of opinioDB have been expressed, and yet does not appear to be fally decided. Having bad some experience in the matter, and having- chargeof some thoaeand orchard trees, and being advanced in years^ I thonght I wonld make a statement of the condasions reached in my jndgment.
Most orchardists know that the practice of neglecting to prone an orchard for some years, and then pruning heavily, is very injuriooa. If trees are properly pruned while yonng, and the spronts or sockers rnbbed off once or twice each sammer, it will obviate a great deal of after-pmning. But what I want to show is, when it is necessary to take off thrifty limbs of Bome size, as in the case of top-grafting or opening ont the top of a tree — at what seaaon of the year it shonld be done.
Aboat twenty years ago the idea was current in many papers that Jnue was the time to prnne; that if done then the wound would booq heal over. I tried tbataeason and pruned some trees, and was pleased to Bee how soon the new wood began forming over the stumps of limbs taken off at that time. But I soon found that the healing over was not the main object, bnt the preservation of the wood below and down the body of the tree, for I noticed that in a few years after, the stumps of iimbs taken off at that season of the yearhad decayed, and often showed signs of decay some distance below. I therefore ooncladed that late spring or early summer was, of all seasons, the moat unfavorable for pruning.
I had noticed that where limba were broken off in the foil with weight of apples, the part below the break generally remained sound. I therefore detennined to give each season of the year a fair trial for pruning. I selected a thrifty apple tree abont half grown, which was famiBhed with a nnmber of limbs, and cat off a limb abont the middle of each month in the ^ear, leaving a stamp of two or three inches long, labeling it with the date of the operation. I observed in a few years- after, that the etnmps of those limbs taken off in late spring and early sommer were somewhat decayed, while the others, and particularly those taken off in the ^1, were Boand. A few years after, I cat the tree down for inspection, and found that the decay of those limbs showed in the body of the tree by colored portions approaching decay_ Therefore, I was folly convinced that the spring of the year and early sommer were not the time to take off thrifty limbs of some size, though it might do for small pruning or for decaying branches. Any perBOD
MISOELLANKOVS PAFEBS. 193
who is fatntliar with the catting of yoong timber knows that a sapling cut in the spring of the year soon sap-rots, and the stamp also ; bat if cat in the fall will remain soond for some time, and the wood when dressed will have an oily appearance.
As to the time for larger prnning, I would recommead for the lati- tude of Central PennsylTania to commence abont the middle or latter part of 9mo. (September). Fmit-gathering mayprevent beginning thus early, bat it may be doae immediately after the apples are gathered. Another great advantage in pruning before the leaves have fallen off ia that we can more readily observe those limbs which Nature has concluded to throw off, and assist her in the operation. I would say to orchardists, do not too readily take np with the conoinsions of oth- ers, but experiment, and let us get this matter of the time to prune settled W. P. Fitker in Country Oentleman.
Centre County, Penn,
THE BIG TREES, OALIPOENIA.
It has been saffloiently shown that there are in the State several foreala and groves of big treeu stilt belonging to the Government aside from those embraced in the Yandever bill. To insure the safety of these, and to pat them beyond the designs of timbermen, and above alt to protect them ttotn devastating forest-flres, it is exceedingly desirable that they be reserved and placed under expert supervision. We need no reminder that the greed of timber and cattlemen will soon work havoc with what remains unless something be done to stay the devastation ; and if we would save a portion we mast begin at once.
Concerning the atility of the region embraced in these limits aa the best natural reservolrfor tbe storage of waters needed for irriga- tion, we need not dwell. But for a moment let me toucb on the saita- bility of tbe country for a park because of its charming natural attractions. You need bardly be reminded of this. The heart of tbe Sierra culminating in Mount Whitney affords grand scenery of pecniiar charm and great variety. Here are three Yosemites rivaling their noted prototype in many features, with a little world of wonders clustering around the headwaters of Eem, Eaweah and King's rivers. We will simply mention the Qrand canon of the Kern, where, for twenty miles, the mad waters of the river are walled in with the couttnnoue battle- ments of tbe California Alps, crowned with nameless and unnumbered H R— 13
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_)'
Sle
191 BTATE HOBTICULTURAL 800IBTY,
domes and towers. Then, only a few miles across the divide, extends the canon of King's river with its wealth of impressive scenery, and some eight miles forther to the north lies the valley of Tehipitee — the gem of the Sierra — with its wondroas dome of rock rising in ronnded majesty some 6,000 feet ftom the level of the river-cleft meadow at its foot. Yet a view of the most impressive and charact«ri8tic scenery of the region is to be earned by scaling one of the lofiy peaks of the Kaweah range. At least a hondred peaks here rise to altitudes ex- ceeding 10,000 feet. One never can forget the impression who has once looked out over California Alps ttotn the pinnacle of Miner's peak. As I once before said, in describing this scence: "Here, amid the companionship of peaks, one beholds with speechless wonder the spectacle beyond. No satisfactory view of the Whitney range can be fonnd from the San Joaqnin plains. The intervening Eaweah range veils tlie view of the higher peaks beyond. But here, standing on the crest of the Eeweah Sierra, one looks across the Qrand canon of the Kern, and the encircling wilderaees of crags and peaks is beyond the oower of the pen to describe. Monnts Monache, Whitney, Williamson, Qdall, Kaweah and a hundred nameless peaks — the crown of our country — have pierced the mantle of green that clothes the canons be- low, and are piled into the very sky, jagged and bald, and bleak and ' hoary — a wilderness of eternal desolation." — Garden and Forett.
SHBUB BUDDING.
We have before alladed to numeroas examples of bedding hardy shrabs effectually on onr grounds. Fignre 5 shows one of the smaller beds of this kind, such as would troxa lis extent be suitable for intro- docing into grounds of almost any size. The occnpants in this case areas follows: Five Golden Bel\ fForaythia vtridissimaj ; nine Yarie- gated-leaved Weigelias; seven Panicled-flowered Hydrangea; seven Mezeron Fink ; one Strawberry bush fEunymutJ. The selection is ca- pable of affording bloom almost continaously from the time of the Mezeron Pink in April to the end of the Hydrangea season in October, while the ftnit of the Strawberry bneb gives attraction to the bed ia late antamn. The foliage of the bed is also pleasingly varied from the light'Colored leaves of the Variegated Weigelia to the intensely dark foliage of the G-olden Bell. Between the shrabs at the edge of the bed are scattered Hyacinth8,Verbenas and other flowering plants — Popular Gardeiung.
.jgk
MISGBLLINBOUS FAPBB8.
AUTUMN FAVORITES.
Tbe Uaple IB a d«lnty mftld,
Tbe pet of all the wocd. Who llgbtB tbe dusky forest giade
Wtth dueky oloak and hood.
Tbe Elm a lovely lady U,
In sblmmeriDg robea of gold, They catoh the aunllgbl when she moTes,
And glisten fold oa fold.
Tbe Sumach Is s gypsy queen,
Who flaunts In crtmson dreat, ADd wild along tbe roadside nina.
Red bloasoniB Id her bresit.
And towering high above the wood.
All in his purple cloah, A monareh In his spleodor la
The proud and princely Oak.
— Youth's Companion.
BEES AND FRUIT.
Professor Cnshman, apiariet at the State Agrionltaral Experiment BtatiOQ, declared before the Rhode Island HoiticDltnral society that bees never attack sonnd frnit, but only saoh as is decayed or has been already injured by other Insects; and his words were indorsed by all bis anditors.
THE SPRINGFIELD (MASS.) AMATEUR HORTICULTURAL
SOCIETY
Is only two years old, but haa already a membership of over 400, and holds two exhibitions a year. It is doing mach to create a love for the cnltivation of flowers among tbe people here. Every one is invited to show what he can, bot no premiams are offered, so there can be no jealoasy felt.
.y Google
STATB HOETIODLTUEAX SOCIETY.
THE BLESSINGS OF HOBTICULTIJKE.
Horticnltare ia, per »e, one of the moat pleasant pnrsaite wbich men have ever followed. It bringa into healthfnl exercise both mind and body. It neither racks the one nor wrecks the other. To the gardener — even the aged gardener — the aching bones, the stiffened joints and distorted form and hnngry sonl are still indefinitely post- poned.— Dr. Ridpaih.
WILD FRUITS.
Are any wild fruits snsceptible of improvement, so that they may become valnable additions t We have severely Blighted onr native fraits. In the old world a clasa of tmUa has been developed adapted to their soil and climate. We have eonght to reap at once the benefit of that long process of improvement by removing their fraits to onr land, with its widely different climatiu conditions.
To what extent onr precarions frnit crops are assignable to this canse I do not know. The foreign grape we have abandoned, and in its stead has sprang ap a moltitade of vastly improved varieties of na- tive grapes. The same may be said of the raspberry. Wonld it not have been a good fortune for ne had the imported plam and cherry been more snsceptible to injory from the cnrcnlio, and less able to endare onr winters t If so, by this time perhaps we might have been rejoicing in delicious native plums and cherries that shonld be as hardy as their unimproved parents.
One boon of the experiment station ia to demonstrate that, with some exceptions, America's native frnita will fumiah varieties equal to those of the old world, with the great advantage that they will stand our climatic conditions.
Probably we have wild fraits not yet introduced into culture that are capable of amelioration. The Awart Jaae-beny f Amelanokier Oana- densitj in certiun localities offers some promise. The huckleberry and blueberry take leas readily to cnltnre, but are enough superior in qual- ity to merit more efforts for their improvement. We have domesti- cated the cranberry, a cousin of the huckleberry, by suiting our treat- ment to its ascertained needs.
The huckleberry and blueberry should become profitable market fruits when we have learned how to compromise between their exact- ing requirements and onr arbitrary cnltnre.
UISOELLANBOnS PAPBB8. 197
IMPBOTESEHT BY SELBOTIOIT.
To what extent can the vigor of trees or plants that are propagated by grafts, bnds or cnttings be increased by propagation fi-om excep- tional!; yigorouH plants 1 Weakaess and disease are tranBmiBBible throngh the graft. The experience of President Smith with the Wilson strawberry, and the New York Agrioattaral Experiment station with potatoes, have shown conclasirely that in these plants at least, which are propagated by offsets, mach can be gained by selections from the strongest individoale.
If onr frnit trees may be increased in vigor in a similar way, an im- portant point will be made. The relation of the grafted or bndded tree to its parent needs to be thoroagbly investigated. Nareerymen have assumed that it makes little difference where they obtain their cions or bnds when they are of proper variety, bat the most observing and Bkillfal grafters insist that it does make a great difference.
Carriere, a learned French hortiualtnrist, declares that in bndding roses he can prodnce plants that flower profnsely, sparingly, or not at all, by selecting bnda &om differenta parts of the same plant, and he adds that it is very probable that the same principles apply to fmit trees. Evidently the whole science of propagation has not yet been worked out. — Popular Gardening.
WISCONSIN STATION, BULLETIN NO 23, APEIL, 1890.
Fbbtbntioh op Apple scab, E. S. Ooff (illustrated). — This con- tains a brief illastrated account of the apple scab fiingas (Fufinladium dendritieum, Eckl.), and details of experiments in the nse of fangicides for this disease, conducted by the author and Mr. A. L. Hatch, of Ith- aca, Wisconsin, in co-operation with this department. These experi- ments are also reported in Bnlletin No. 11 of the section of vegetable pathology of this department, pp. 22-29. As the result, the author is confident that damages from apple scab may be almost entirely pre- vented at a slight cost, by spraying the trees once in two or three weeks during the summer with ammoniacal carbonate of copper, of a strength not to exceed 1} ounces of the carbonate and one quart of ammoDia to 100 quarts of water.
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BTITE HORTICTTLTTJBAL SOCIETY.
TASTE AND TAOT IN ABBANGING GBOUNDS.
[Tbe foUowiDg plan, taken from " Popular Qardenlng." [ consider of sufBclent value to give ub some thongbt In regard to Uflns o^ oar groande. The cut has been klndl; loaned na by the publishers of tbat Journal. A little stud]' of such i plan will help any one who wishes to Improve their borne.— Sbcrbtarv.]
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Tbe present is the first of a series of illastrated arti- cles to appear in " Popnlar Gardeniug" on the snbject of the heading. It is de- signed to render these ar- ticles widely nsefal throngh imparting ideas on arrang- inghome and other grounds with taste and discernment, basing the same on actnal examples. Tbe directions and illastratioos are to be of the most simple and practi- cal character, and soch as it is believed there is a large and growing demand for in the present day.
The plan is to invite, and we hereby do cordially in- vite, sketches of home plats, raral cemeteries, town sgnares, etc., from onrread- ers, with a view to oar fur- nishing tfarongh these col- umns, and withoat charge, designs and suggestions for improving socb grounds to be more attractive in gar- den beanty. That there is ^ great room for improve- ments in snch a line is widely conceded. As a
le Second Pipot tru printed
D.-inz's:;!-.; \_jV_IV_)V|1^
HI80EIXANP1OU3 PAPBBS. 199
people we are only beginning to w&keo up to the possibilities of the garden ait in embelllBhing home and public grounds everywhere.
To render this pioject as profitable as posBible to all readers, we desire not only to make use of such sketcbes sent ns, for getting Dp engravings showing the location of the objects on the grounds, bat along with snch respectively, the new plans embodying the improve- ments it occurs to ns to snggeet. That this may be all clearly under- stood we herewith present the plans which are to serve as the initial ones in this serif^s.
A subscriber in Allegan county, Mich., whose name and post office are withheld (as we shall always do in these articles), sends us a sketch from which the upper engraving annexed was made, with the following letter :
September 9, 1S»0.
Dear iSir-^BelDg a. sabscrlber to " ['opul&T Gardening." and taking a very great interest in the bes.iitiO'l'>Kof lioiQeB, I herewith send ]rou a sketch of our home and gronndg, asking you the favor of gaggestlng Improvements In the lawn arrange- moDt, as the Teatures are Dot exactly to my taste. 1 Intend setting out some shrubs and eveigreens neit spring, also laying ont larger beds of tulips, hyacinths, tea rosea, etc.
We have already decided If necessary to move the office (a physician's), as it obstmotB the view to and from the road.
In accordance with the purpose of these papers, therefore, and in answer to this sabscriber's request, we present the plan received, and under it another containing certain added improvements. The nam- bers in the upper cot represent the following: 1, a bed cat in lawn, occupied with lalips and later with dahlias, gladiolus, etc. ; 2, bed of hyacinths ; 3, bed of day lilies ; i, bed of colens ; 5, bed of tea roses. Various trees and shrubs besideB are scattered over the ground as ahown. The figures in the lower plan may be explained as follows: 1, front entrance, 2, Bide and ofBce entrance, 3, 3, 3, beda of irregnlar outline to be planted with shrubs and hardy, tender plants, bulbs, etc. ; 4, an arbor to be covered with hardy and tender vines ; 6, a shrubbery walk in the midst of irregular masses of hardy shrnbs, and surround- ing the arbor and leading from the lawn to the small fruit plat ; 6, fruit trees irregularly arranged in the rear lawn ; 7, 8, vistas extending from the house toward the street; numerous trees and shrabs abound- Some evergreens are located both to the front and rear of the office.
JS'ow briefly for the lesson : That which will impress the reader in comparing the two sketches, is the angularity and lack of general method and harmony in the arrangement of the features of the upper one. A garden of any size to be most pleasing shoald, especially in the growths, present a degree of naturalness approximating the pleasing
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300 8TA.TB HOfiTlOTTLTVBAL SOCIETY.
arrangemeul of trees, sbrnbs, etc., to be met in natural landscapes. It has well been said that nature abhors straight tines. But nsaally in starting out to make a pleasing home garden, we meet with a number of lines and angles in the ouUines of bnildingB, the boandaries of the place, the streets, etc Shall we therefore add more straight lines by introdncing anch prominently into walks, tree rows, ontlines of beds, etc. The aim shonld be the reverse of this in dealing with all sach featnres as will admit of variations fl'om straight lines, angles and geometrical figures. Usually the walka, drives, trees, plants, etc., very readily harmonize with this principle.
The lower plan shows how we sboald prefer the improvements. Here simplicity, harmony of parts, graceful curves and irregalarity are the order — with what guns for garden beauty let the reader judge. Not only do the objects seem to fit the places well and serve to the making of a harmonious whole, but the grounds appear to be larger, wUhont this really being true — a result of the fine open centers in the grass-plats and the delightful vistas that extend from point to point. While the walks present bold curves, it will be observed that they lead very directly ttota the street to the buildings.
Let the reader in imagination pass over the one plan and then the other as if examining the various features, and he cannot but be im- pressed by the snperior arrangement of the lower one ; this simply be- cause better principles are observed in the arrangement. Even the fruit trees at 6 and the front street trees are located with the idea of keeping down straight lines and regular distances apart.
In having thus complied with onr subscriber's request for assist- ance, it is possible that more shmbs and trees have been suggested than can at once be planted and cared for. In that event it is only necessary to carry out the improvements step by step, constantly having in view the completed whole.
To others who may favor us with sketches of grounds to be im- proved, we, would say that such plans, even if made crudely, will answer our ends very well. Of course, if puns are talien to locate the buildings, trees and other objects by scale, the result may be slightly more satisfactory. We will be pleased to consider the arrangement of the fruit and vegetable garden of home gronnds as well as the orna- mental parts, although it may be said that the former are less difficult, as here straight lines should largely prevail.
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WINTER MEETING AT CLINTON,
[Inorder to give a rather oondeneed report of tbe RacceMfDl meeting and tbe «Dtbu«1aRm of the hortlonltarlete, as well as tbe papers read and wbat others think of the work of the Bocletj, I append at the outset a report b^ Judge Uiller, and oBo alioof "Colman'sRoral World.'"— Sbcs«t*ht.|
ANNUAL MEETING OF THE MISSOURI HORTICULTUEAL SOCIETY AT CUSTON.
The first day was taken up in arrangiDg frnits and flovert, vith some of tbe regular bnsineas of tbe proj^ram. Tbe attendance vas very good so Car as members vere concerned, and tbe crowd of citi- zeDB of tbe plaee at the night eeseiotis was euoonraging, and shoved that the people felt an interest in the matter. ,
The display of apples was a grand one, and shows what Missoari CSD do in tbis line. There were on exhibition 346 plates of apples and six of pears; one spoimen of Keiffer weighing over one poond, appar- ently jnst in good condition for eating, from Texas, was to me a curi- osity, and leads me to believe that we may make a winter pear of tbis variety here.
A &ae collection of ferns and other green-bonse plants, an orange tree with irnit on, two India rubber trees, some eight feet bigh, some handsome flowers, and conspionoasly a bonqnet of a new Paseiflora of oniqne and beaalifal form and color.
A coUecUon of frait ftom New Mexico, showing that it will make its mark in raising fruit ; also a bottle each of wiae and brandy &om the same place by the same contribntor. Dr. I. H. Bailey, Mesilla, N. M., who told me that they conld grow as good grapes there as in Cali- fornia, ag well as man; other of their brag fraits, and that they were weeks earlier than Callfomia. The doctor is well started with a large vineyard of Unseat of Alexandria, for the purpose of making raisins.
Bnt to the meeting. To my notion it was the best one I have atten- ded for many years. The essays and discnseions were of tbe right metal, ao that there most good result from it. The only Badness was the infortnatiou given that our old and beloved Brother Holman had been saddenly stricken with parf>lysia, and perhaps at death's door. If be never meets as in conncil again, may his greeting at tbe Great Bar be, " Oome hither, well done, thon good and faithful servant."
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304 STATE HOBTIOULTURAL SOCIETY.
The old officers were le-elected, inclading the treasarer, as, whil» there is life there is hope, and we piay that we may meet him again.
It is the rale for the citizens of a place that ioTites the society to entertain the membere, which the good people of Clinton were ready to carry out, bnt I think more than half of ^be members went to the hotels. This latter seems to me to be the most proper thing, as they are in this way thrown together more closely, are free and inde- pendent, are no trouble to the citizens, which, at times, is by no means a comfort or a convenience, althoagh they welcome the gaest. A better plan, in my notion, wonid be for the citizens to make arrangements with good hotel keepers to entertain the members at a reasonable rate, and then pay their bills at these places, if they think we who travel handreds of miles and pay onr railroad fares and expenses all the way, are willing to impart to them all the information we can without one vent of pecantary reward. If not, then let every one pay his own way throaghont. Bat this latter necessity might keep some at home, for horticolluriBts are not all rich. An outsider to attend one of these meetings mast be struck by the earnest, social and Mendly character of the whole affair.
These meetings are becoming more interesting as the years roll on, and in the years to come may become an occasion of (he greatest im- portance. I can hardly expect to attend many more, bat so long as able will lend my feeble aid to the good cause. I was obliged to leave before the close of the session, so as to get home at the time appointed.
There were three nnrseries represented by trees of different fruits. The trees were taken up with all their roots, showing the nninitiated jnst how long roots are when not too roughly cat with the spade. Her& was shown the difference between whole and piece root grafts, the dif- ference between crown piece, middle piece of the smallest end of the root, an interesting comparison. Also the difference in growth of the pear on the difTereut stocks, as well as that of the plum on the different foundations. The Marianna shows to great advantage in this test.
The Stark Bros., of Louisiana, Mo., had the largest display, and sarely convince one that they know how to grow and handle trees.
A beautiful tree of the Ktall pear, by Bobert Mallinchrodt, one year from bud, was shown, as well as specimens of this noble winter pear. A tree of the Clayton by Monsees, of Beaman, Mo., with fruit of this promising variety tied to it.
A complete account and description will be given in the report of the committees when printed, which every lover of horticulture should procare, and which can be got annnally by becoming a member of the society for one dollar; and the next dollar in same line, seeking infor-
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WINTER MKBTING AT OLIMTON 206
mntion, send for th« "Barat World," id which there eaa be ae ninch □eefal knowledge on this snbject foand, bs in any other pqper in the Uaited States, and a great deal more than most of them, ,
8. MiLLBB.
MISSOURI HOETICULTUEIST8.
THIBTY-THIBD ANItnAL MBETINQ AT OLIKTON. Prom Colman'B Rural World.
The meeting was held in the City hall, commencing on the evening of December 2. The attendance was nnnsnally large fur the opening aeasioD, there being delegations present from nearly every fruit-grow- ing locality in the State. The large collection of frnite, vegetables and floral displays gave the hall a oheerfnl and enchanted air, indicative of that CDltivated and refined taste which is a part of each and every saocessfnl borticDltarist. The aid given by the local florists and frnit- £rowera, supplemented by the very efficient service of the Faculty of Baird college, was conclusive evidence in the opening of the meeting that the choice of Clinton as the place for this meeting had been a good one.
The ofScers present were, J. G. EvauB, President, Harlem ; K. F. Murray, Vice-President, Elm Grove ; L, A. Goodman, Secretary, West- port. Opening exercises began with music, "Praise God, from Whom all Blessings Flow," after which Rev, Taylor Bernard, pastor of the O. P. cborch, made the invocation. This was followed by a double quartette — Mrs. George Holliday, Miseea Barcafer and Jennings, Bopranos ; Mrs. Bernard and Misa Salmon, altos ; Prof. Hall and W. L. Windsor, tenors ; Dr. Babey and J. L. Elliston, bassos ; A. M. Fnlker- aoD, comet.
Mayor Carter, in a brief and well-timed address, welcomed the delegates and visitors, and referred to the educationfil institations, water-works, gas and electric lights and street railways as synonyms of a live, progressive city. He hoped their deliberations woald result in a general benefit to horticultare thronghout the State.
Mr. J. C. Evans, President of the society, responded in hia happy manner. Among others, he said the fmit product of Misaoori had brought $10,000,000 into thia State, and the yield from many orchards this year had been worth more than the price of the land.
Mr. N. F. Murray, of Elm Grove, read a valuable paper, "Mia- soori'a Opportunity."
306 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETT.
Miss Ardie KlsUer, of GlintoD, a papil iu Fraokliu public school, delivered a tonching recitation. , J. H. Logan waB appointed Treaenrer pro tern, on acconut of the
absence and Berioaa illueBS of D. 8. Holman, of Springfield, the present Treasarer.
Secretary Goodman read a list of the nsual committees.
Mrs. J. M. Pretzinger, wife of the President of the Henry Oonnty Horticaltnral society, read an appropriate essay, followed by a history of the State society by F. A. Sampson, of Sedalia, read by the Secretary.
C W. MnrLfeldt contributed an article on the same subject, enter- ing more fally into detail. These two papers will do much to preserve the early history of this society. The paper, " Geology iu its Relation to Horticulture," by Prof. Edwin Walters, of Kansas City, was the bright particular star of the evening ; in fact it opened up a broad field for thought, characterized as it was by those apt illustrotions, beautiful analogies and clear statement of well-known facts, clothed in choice language. It was received with undivided attention, and many ex- pressed themselves as anxious to see the same in print, that they might stady it at their leisure. It will soon appear in the "Bnral World."
The roll-call on Wednesday morning showed fifteen faorticnltural societies in the State represented by regularly appointed delegates.
Orcharding iu North Missouri, by Charles Patterson, of Kirksville brought out the statement that they had a good crop of ft'nit and it was sold at good prices. Their surplus crop of apples shipped out of Adair county, he stated to be between 100,000 and 110,000 bushels. He be- lieves the bnlk of fruits will in time be raised by specialists. The ordi- nary farmer will not jfive the cultivation to his orchard that is neces- sary to success. In the discussion that followed, tfaorongh caltivation was pronounced the watch-word of perfect success. For small or- chards, the cnltivatjon of sweet potatoes has proven not only a succesa- but old grounds have been renewed by this crop, said 8. W. Gilbert, of Thayer,
Orcharding in West Missouri, by Henry Spter, of Butler. — Some failures were noticeable, but they were mostly owing to a want of in- formation as to the kinds best adapted to the locality. He regarded as elements of success : A proper location, a subsoil without hard pan, and for varieties would plant Maiden Slash, Grimes' Golden, Ben Da- vis, Jonathan and Willow Twig. Gets his trees A-om the nearest relia- ble nursery. Trim carefully, he said, cultivate tboroaghly, and keep at it, and yon will reap your reward in due time. It is the- uncared-for orchards that are unprofitable.
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WINTBE MBBTIHG AT OUNTOH. 207
I>iscuaaion. — Ae to the kind to plant, Secretary Qoodman woald study the market to be supplied. Vice-Presidenl Mnrray emphaaized this point. Jacob Faith gave eome excetleot ilioBtratioas as to the site to be selected. When trees fiiil here and there or do not bear freely, it was recommended to plant between the rows where trees die, or top graft when not good bearers. J.T. Stewart woold select dry locations, eloping north or northeast preferred.
Low Lands for Orekards — a disoQBSion only, was one participat- ed in by a large nnmber, which brought ont the fact that the low lands of-the Missouri bottoms are excellent for orcharding, especially for the Winesap, said Mr. Maxwell, of St. Joseph, He prefers a northern slope. Prof. Walters believes the Missonri river blnffstbe best of apple lauds, having the proper snbsoil and porosity. The beneflcial effects of bodies of water was remarked apon.
Spraying, by Prof. Olark, who elaborated npon the several sola- tions nsed on the different kinds of f^t, citing a large nnmber of ez- perimentals, form different esperiment stations, and their efforts on spores, fungi, parasites and scab.
WOOLLY APHIS.
J. W, Simpson, of Mammoth Springs, Ark., showed several samples of trees that bad been attacked by this insect. Whatsballhe do with hie orchard f After a lengthy diseassion the oonclusion was drawn that to dig np and bam the entire planting was the most certain and effective means of getting rid ofthe same. It was also recommend- ed that he reploDgh the ground, buy new trees from some nnrsery where the aphis did not belong, and begin again. H. B. Francis would dip the roots of alltrees in a solution of water, consisting of hlaf a barrel of water, two ounces of carbolic acid, and half a box of concentrated lye. Has always nsed this when planting, and has never been troubled with the aphis.
The history of the Apple, byfA. W. Taylor, of Clinton, was a well- prepared paper that commanded universal attention.
Berriea in South Missouri, by G. W. Hopkins, of Springfield :
Strawberries His experience was that in his locality anyone oan
succeed in berry-growing with areasonable degree of effort. Believes the crop will not be as large next year as in the past two or three years.
Baspberries do not do as well in his locality ae farther south and west. Crop was light and the local demand took all produced.
Blackberry — Grown extensively in Gn-ene county. The goose- beiry is not cultivated in South Missonri.
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203 BTA.IB HOBTIOnLTUBAI, SOCIETY.
He wonld connaet growers agaiDstpIatitiDgnew varieties qdIU folly tested on tbeir owo soil and latitude. Prof. Clark gave the reBalts of experimental « ork at the Station. Babach "So. 5, Crescent, Haviland, Lady Enst, Staymaa's No. 2, and Warfield No. 2 proved, ont of a very large nnmber, the best. Lady Rask withstood tbe droath better than any others, bnt had too many doable berries,
Boadaide and yard-tree ploTUmg and bett to plant, by 0-. B. Kessler,
Merriam, Kansas He recommends White Elm and White Maple as
best suited for roadside planting. For city streets, Carolina Poplar, Sfapleand Sycamore. Where roads and streets have been graded down, large holes shonld be made and oare taken thatt he trees are not planted too deep. N'orsery-grovn trees are preferred to forest-grown. A full list of flowering and non-flowering shrnbs was named, bnt we mnat refer to the society's report, in which the paper in full will be foaud.
HortievUure and Home life, by Mrs. G. E. Dagan, of Sedalia, was a vivid pictare of the old orchards, and meadows and the spilng. 8be said : " Homes that are not homes, have no frnit-trees or flowers." It was a poem in prose.
Siimbvgi, by J. G. Kinder, was a paper characteristic of the sub- ject and the writer, was well handled and commanded the closest atten- tion. It was a general shaking up of the nursery men, the shippers, the freight carrier, and lastly, bat not leasUy, the commission man.
Pragres* of Florievlture, by J. M. Jordon, of St. Louis, was a short and concise paper, well prepared and just to the point.
Secretary Goodman's report is always listened to with great inter- est, and this one more than nsnal. We glean as follows : 20,000 farms are devoted to fruit; 100,000 people are engaged in fruit culture; 110,000,000 is the value of the fruit crop of this State for 1890. The work of the horticulturist is now divided up. The florist is a special- ist ; the tree-grower is a specialist, and the fruit-grower is a fruit-grower only.
The growing demand is for special fruits for special localities. More knowledge needed; more reading necessary. The timely words of warning through the Bund World bad made thousands of dollars to the fruit-growers of tbe State who were laising apples. He read several letters from parties who claimed they bad beeen swindled by- selling their crop too low. The general belief was expressed that these "kickers" were the same fellows who are always "too poor" to take a paper, or want a flrst-class paper for almost nothing. Some of these bad lost over $500, becaase some fellow bad told them there was a big crop of apples everywhere. The Secretary reported twenty-seven hor- ticultural societies in the State.
WINTBB M&ETIKG AT CLINTON.
KLBCTIOK OF 0PFICBB9.
The old offlcerB were all re-elected aaaninioDBly.
TBE WORLD'S FAIB. .
A resolntioD with a long list of whereases was adopted, asking that in Ttew of the £aet that the fruit interests of the State now exceed $L0,- 000,000, we hereby ask the Legislature of this State to appropriate the fiam of $25,000 to aid in an exhibit of the fruit interests of the State at the Golambian Exposition.
Berries in North Missonri, by J. N. Menefee and Samael Miller, of BlnfftoD, and Berries in Soath Missonri, by J. H. Logan, of Nevada, were all excellent papers, rich in practical snggestions eo necessary to the amateur berry grower.
The disonsaion which followed brought out the oft-repeated fact that certain varieties hare their favorite localities, while ont of these they do not succeed as well. Michel's Early so for as fi-nited iagiviaj; very general satisfoction as one fit for general planting.
Mr. Hopkins asked for a remedy for mat on raspberry and black- berry canee. Prof. Clark believes it is cansed by a vegetable or fung- ons growth andkuoweof no remedythat has proved effective. Bordeaux Mixture has been tried, but the results were not satisfactory.
Mr. Spieer Ihinkaiuachof the ao-called winter-killing of vines is dae to thia. Some thought it sameas the red mat on the raspberry, while others thought differently.
VINEYARDS
Mr. Espenlanb reported the beet crop of grapes for years. Says we should plant for early grapes, and we can thus avoid competition with the eastern product. Mr, Kinder reported in favor of Moore'a Early and Diamond. Empire the beat early white grape. Samuel Miller in- dorsed all Mr, Kinder aaid. Mr. Espenlanb had good success with the Niagara. Maj, Evana thiuka the coming grape will be the Jewell. Mr. Espeolaab aays it shows more wood than the Concord, is a great bearer, thick skin, size that of a medium Concord. Mr. Kinder thinks the com- ing red grape is the Ulster Prolific. Samuel Miller thinks the Jewell is as good a grape as we can get. The Ooetbe was pronounced the best of the Rogers family.
Plwiiw, by Jacob Paith,~ODe of those really good, strong, every-day papers, highly practical, bristling with good, common, every-day sense. Becommeuds that hogs and poallry have tree access to the pinm orchard ;
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210 STATE HOETIODLTUBAL SOCIETY.
also that tbe plam be grafted on peacli roots ; should be picked three to fonr days before nsing. Wild Goose and Orimson Beauty succeed best Id Vernon count;. S". F. &furr; said to get good sauce from the Wild Goose they shoald be pitted before cooking.
Fruit Packing, by Mr. C. C. Bell, of Booaville.— Should pack the fruit honestly — same quality all through the barrel ; ship a less amonnt ; bnt make the qnality better, and the shipper will receive as mnch money and have the poorer fruit for other pnrpoaes.
Evaporating Fruit, by J. B. Darand, Prairie City. — The object of this paper was to show vrhat to do with the fruit that vas not fit to ship. Belieres every fruit-grower should have a dryer for his sarplaa atock. Has often received more for bis cull stock when evaporated than for his choice stock when shipped. Every bushel evaporated as- sists in keeping np the market for the green stock. Evaporated apples hare the world for a market. Can bekeptforyearsif properly packed. A very excellent paper.
Planting, Protecting and Pruning, by H. B. Francis, of Mulberry
He regards good horttenltaral literatnre an absolute necessity. In «hoice of soil and location, get the best experience you can to aid you, 8take ont the ground for rows thirty feet apart in tbe dead farrows. Fill in the dead furrows with well-rotted manure, and back-furrow it under and set the trees on or in this ridge. Getting the trees— I go to the nursery sad select my trees; by doing this I have no trouble in get- ting good trees ; wash the roots as I set them, in a mixture of half-bar- rel of water containing two ounces of carbolic acid and half a box of concentrated lye, which kills all the root lice or " woolly aphis." Would not lean them to the southwest, as is often done, but set upright with . the largest limbs on the south side.
Pruning. — "Heading low" and "citting back" is not the best method, as it requires too much time for the tree to come into bearing, and generally grows a weekly tree. Discnssion : Mr. Strauss prepared his gronnd the year before by plowing from twelve to fifteen inches deep. Planted the grafts where he waQt«d the trees, putting two in a place. Planted the ground in potatoes and thorougly cultivated the ground. Trees now five years old and bearing a light crop.
Propagation of Fruit-bearing Trees, by J. G. Kinder, of Kevada. — Believes a constant deterioration is going on in oar ftnit-trees, and this is owing to a lack of congeniality between tbe graft and root nsed, and often tbe use of grafts from scrubby or ill-conditioned trees. Oites the Jenet as an illustration of this deterioration. This was one of the papers that set fruit-growers to thinking and most likely to observing. It opens np the whole field of " breeding" trees.
WINTBB MBBTING AT CLINTON. 211
CLOSING SES8I0S, THUKSDAY KVESINQ, DBC. 4, The beHt of recitations and music both instrumental aod vocal, have been freely famished by the citizeus of Clinton for the evening sesaion. 7he Acuity of Baird college showed lis breadtb of cnltore and willing- DesB toco-operate in any efforts to educate and instruct even those not withia its own special line, by rendering most efBcif-nt service in both day and night sessions. Personal Association, by Judge G. I. Bobards, of Bntler — Moral of his theme: Though gold may have ita use, there are better things than gold. We mast circulate among each other to secure the very best results.
A most valuable paper, Entomology, by Miss Mnrtfeldt, which was read by Secretary Ohubbuck, of the State Board of Agricnltace, and like all of her papers was well received.
The closing paper was by L. Geiger, of Boonville. Subject: The Poor Horticaltarist. Id this he showed readily that the poor horti- ealtnrist was bo by his own lack of efTort. A paper that will bear read- ing in oar spare moments.
AWASDS AND PBBMIUHS — VLOWEBS.
Best basket of flowers — First premium $6.00, B. S. Brown, Kansas ■City. Second premium, $4,00, E. A. Bamhart, Clinton
Best hand boqaet: First premium, $3.00, M. L. Bon bam, Clinton.
Beat table boqnet: First premium; $3.00, E. A. Bamhart, Clinton.
Collections of plants : E. A. Bamhart and M. L. Bonham, each a jfratuity of $5.00.
Judges : Mr. Sam'l Miller, iVIrs. L. A. Goodman, Mrs. Balrd.
ON APPLBB.
Best display, twenty-flve varieties : lat premium, $20, T. J. Bhinkle Bark; 2Dd premium, $10, to Shepbard & Wheeler, lAMonte.
Best ten varieties for family, W. G. Gano, Olden, lat premium, $6; ■J. M. MonBees,2d preminm,$4.
Best ten varieties for market, Olden Fruit Co., Ist premium, $6; second premium, Shephard & Wheeler, $4.
Best ten varieties for show, 1st preminm, T. J, Bfaiakle, $6.
Best five varieties for market, let premium, Shephard & Wheeler, $3 ; 2d premium, W. Q. Gano, $2.
Largest apple, Ist premium, W. G, Oauo, $2 ( the apple selected was the Ben Davia ).
Haudaomest apple, Shepbard & Wheeler, Ist premium, $2 ( also the Ben Davis); second premiam, T. J. Shinkle, $2 (the Hantsoian,)
For quality, Grimes' Golden, T. J. Shinkle; 2nd,C. C. Bell.
212 STATE HOBTICULTURAL BOOIBTY.
Best seedling, 1st premiam, S. Miller ; 2iid premiam, M. L. Bonham.
Committee also reported on ezbibitioa on tables, about forty-five varieties of apples ; also, find some apples by 0. Hartzel, of the crop of 1888 and 1889, kept by his plan of preserving fruits ;al»>o, a collection of seventeen varieties of very fine apples, exhibited by J. T, Scott, of Putnam <-.oanty ; also, s large assortment of fraits by J. H. Baily, of Meailla, yew Mexico ; also, some fine wines by Jacob Faith.
O. F. B3PBNLA.0B,
6. W. Hopkins, L. T. KiEK,
Committee.
Miss Bettie Settle's rendition of " Uncle Ked and his Little Mole'* was rewarded by the very hearty applause of the audience anda basket of the premiam apples. ,
The Gipsy Oirl, by Miss Kate Holmes, was first-class, as were all of her recitations and musical performances.
Major C. C. Bell had several photos of his fntnre assistant in the frnit-packing hnsiness.
The vieitors to Baird college were highly pleased. The trip to the artesian well, which is eight hundred feet deep and fiows four hundred gallons a minute, was appreciated.
The next winter meeting will be held at Sedalia. The location of the summer meeting is not yet fixed by the committee.
Mr. Lamb of Sedalia was the best langher, and Jacob Faith the best German singer.
Congratnlaiory messages were sent and answers received from the societies of Kansas, Michigan and Indiana.
Treasurer D. 8. Holmau was reported to be dangerously ill, and a message of sympathy was sent to Mrs. Holman.
A. kelson was the tallest man and W. Q. Gauo the shortest.
Chas. Patterson was sent as a delegate to the Illinois annual meet- ing, and a package of fruit was also sent.
The usoal reBolntions were passed. This was the beat meeting ever held by this society. Cau Sedalia duplicate itl We shall see. B.
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PROCEEDINGS.
Oltntoh, Mo., Dec. 2. The fiiBt day was spent in decoratini; tbe hall, arranging the fruit and flower exhibits, welcomlDg and asHlgniDg the vieitois and delegates to homes, and other preliminary work.
TUESDAY, Dbcbmbbe 2, 8 p. m.
The meeting was opened with singing the doxology, " Praise God from whom all blessings flow," and prayer by Rev. Taylor Bernard. ISext came a doable qaartette, beantifally reodered.
IVELCOMB ADDBBSS BY THE MAYOR.
Yoa T>eople who are acquainted with me know that I am not ao orator. When a boy 1 Joined a debating aoclety, and like many otber boyi, 1 thought that the eloquence of flenry Clay woald b« laid In the ihade by my eObrta; but when I made a apeech the aadieace left the house . Although not an orator, I do extend to yoa a most hearty welcooie here to-night. It Is claimed by the east tbat we of Mtaaoarl are on the ontsklrta of civilization ; but bo miuy horticultnrlatB here to- night show that we are cot so far oat. Hortlenltare ii one of the fine arts, and Is developed only among ciTlllzed peoples. The name of Henry Bhaw it almost a taoaeehold word In thla oonntry, and bis garden Is a lasting monument.
Who does not love flower* and feel tbat their caltlvation ts reflnlng and enno- bling? Among tbe most Talnable producta of art are those whlob Indode the cal- tlvation of f^Dit, vegetable an^ flowering planta. Host farmers think garden onltute requires too much work. If this meeting of jour Society should give an Impetus to progress In the dlrectiou of horticulture, you will have earned our grat- itude. There are men here, I «ee by your prog^m, who can give us the informa- tion we need, and we give you a generous welcome.
When yon see our churches, schools, water-works and electric lights you will be oonvinced that we sre a progressive and Christian people, I tbink there ie not abetter school in the State than our public sobooi, Lampkin's academy holds a high rank, and Ust but not lesst Is Baird college. I wUh and hope tbat yon will have a pleaeant visit, and that when you go away you will always have pleasant memories and a kind word for our citizens.
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STATE HOETIOULTUEAL SOCIETY.
PRESIDENT EVANS' RE8P0NSB. I will say tliat on bebalf of the Slate Horticnlturat Soolet]r I tbaok the Mayor for thlB very heart; welcome I trust they will continue to feel tbua toward ns, and that they will continue to come and encourage us by their presence. Oar nlgbt sesaiona will cooslat In part of entertainment ; our day eeasions will be work almost entirely. You will And out somethlDg of what we have been doing In the past, and I trust yc>u will find ont enough to Interest yon, so that yon will watcb tie much closer In tbe future. Think of a revenue often million dollars la one year for Hlssoari apples alone ! The mayor eays that some farmera tbink bortlcnl- tare Is not a paying pursuit. Uany men have sold their crop of apples for more than tbey could have sold tbelr land for the day they sold their apples. Yet soma eay that hortloultuie don't pay.
We will DOW have a paper in the san^e line.
MISSOURI'S OPPORTUNITY
N. F. UORBAT, ORKQON, HO.
Located Id tbe geographical center of this great Union of i^tates, and blessed as she Is with the greatest variety of soil, climate and mineral of any State or like area of eonntry on the globe, a land that not only flows with tullk and honey, but never falls to produce an abundance of grain, grass, fruit* and vegetables, and the air is fragrant with the riob perfume of her native flora, where tbe hosbaodmsn la enre to reap a rloh reward for bis toll, and wltb all her vast undeveloped w^altb, sbe has tbe grandest opportunity before her of any of onr many great States that com- prise tbe grandest and beat government lliat Ood has ever given to man .
We are welt aware and willing to confess that .Missouri has not In tbe past embraced and made tbe most of her great opportunities. But If W^atts was right when he penned the lines,
Thkt wblle tbe lamp of life botdtontto boTD. The vlletf ainoer msy Tetnra,
Th«n we may yet hope that Missouri may repent of her sins and ber wasted oppor- tunities, and awaken to a proper sense and realization of her true greatuess and grand possibilities, rise up in ber might, shake off the dust that bas settled over her in years of stupid lethargy, and strike oat on the great highway of progress. mov» onward and upward tlU she reaches that proud position that Nature's Ood and des- tiny seems to have pointed out for her, the empire State of tbe Union.
[Tor a quarter of a century HIssourl bas looked upon wltb almost criminal in- difference and beheld the great tidal wave of emigration rolling through and far be- yond her western border in answer to the call and glowingdesorlpllonsof tbe great Eldorado beyond, so beautifully painted by the able and well<pald advertising agenta of railroad corporations and land syndicates, to struggle with all the adverse condi- tions of the arldandbllxEard-strlckenplalneof the great American desert ; many of the pale-faces that have succumbed lAtheunequnltask will.doubt less rise up In judg- ment to condemn these heartless men for tfaeir crime against suffering humanity; bat tbe great tidal wave that bas rolled out over the plains, up over the Rockies, down upon tbe golden shores of the Faddo ocean, and far out to the northwest over tbe Dakutas, has at last spent Its forae and broken to fragments over the mountains of dllUcuItles and sad disappointments of blasted hopes for remunerative crops for years that failed to appear ; hope long deferred has made tbe heart sick,
WINTER MBETIMG AT OLIHTOM. 216
and thouBands of tbem, like the wandering prodigal of old, have «ald, why do we and oar little ones longer starve In these unfruitful lands, when ihere is p]ent7 and to spare In good old MUsourl. We viU arise and go to ibe land of plenCj, where the climate Is mild and crops never fatl— to a State that has ever provided for her own. A wise conclusion, indeed, and for months we have almost daily beheld ■cores of wagons loaded with tbese disappointed people returning Into this goodly land of promise.
Here again Is Htasourl's opportanitj. Let herpeoplerlse up to give a Mendly greeting to these way-worn and weary travelers, and point tbem to our rich, broad river bottoms ; to our beautiful and plccnresqne bluff ranges, already famous for their abundant orops of lasciousfmlts; to the beautiful and wonderfolly healthy plateau of the Ozarks, and their gentle, sunny south slopes, so famous for thetr never- falling crops of peaches; to our broad rolling prairies; to onr Inexhaustible mines of coal, iron, zlno, marble, lead and granite, and to our vast expanse of cheap, wild lands. Invite them to make their homes within onr borders, and help unlock Nature's store-bonse of wealth, and bring forth her hidden treasures to supply the wants of a rapidly Increasing and higher civilization.
The failure of the fruit crop In most all of the Eastern States the past season brought a email army of buyers to Ulssourl hunting fruit. They were not disap- pointed, but left hundreds of thousands of dollars among our people In exchange for their fruit, and were agreeably surprised at what they saw. A New Tork gentleman, after spending a week In Northwest Uissourl, remarked that It was a grand, good eountry; that he was very much pleased with the people. Said he, ' ' I wrote to my family the other d»y that I was agreeably surprised with Ulsaonrl and her people; felt quite at home and just as safe as I would Id New York." Anotber remarked that Missouri was the best place In the world for yonng men In the Eastern States to come to for good and cheap homes. Another opportunity for Missouri : let us bid them come, and give them a kindly welcome to make acd build their homes hi this ftnitful land, where each may. With a little capital, In- dustry and economy, soon sit beneath their own vine and fmlt-tree, and enjoy such pleasures and luxuries as home alone can give. And here permit me to earnestly urge our own citizens, who have not secured themselves homes, and our yonng men who are Inclined to roam, to at once, while you may and can, buy some of our cheap land, and make you a pleasant home, surround It with fruits and flowers, and in the evening of life you will thank the writer for this advice.
Renwmliet that the world hatb lu delight* and Its delnilona too. But hame to calmer bllaa InTitei, m>re tranqnll and moTb Ime.
UlsBOurl's fruit crop this year has gone east, west, north and south, giving an opportunity to tens c>f thousands of people to eat and test the superior quality o' Miasourl fruit, which will proveagraad Bdvertlsemenl for our State. But Mis- souri's grand and crowning opportunity to show the world ber wonderful products and superior fruits will be at the World's fair at Chicago In 1803. And she should at once prepare to embrace this golden opportunity and arrange to show ber vast products on a mammoth scale worthy of her rank among our sister States. And as horticulture Is well to the front, If not In the lead, of all other Industries, amount- ing In the aggregate to over ten millions of dollars annually, and ought, if properly enconraged, to reach fifty millions In the next ten years, we, as a State Horticul- tural Society, should at once organize and muster our forces and prepare to do our duty and act well our part In this great drama, that we may acquit ourselves with credit as citizens of the coming empire State of the Union.
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216 STATE HOBTIOULTDBU. BOOISTY,
After Mr. Murray's paper came a lecitatioD hy Miss Ardie Eistler, of the ClintoQ pablic aohoole.
The following committeeB were appoioted by the President for the session :
On Fruits— G. F. Espenlanb, L. T. Kirk, O. W, Hopbine.
On Flowbrs— Samnel Miller, Hra. Batrd, Un. L. A. Qoodmsn.
On FiNiNCB— J. W. Heniree, Chas. PatterBon, Beor.v Hp«er.
OBrruARY— C. I. Robards, C. C, Bell, J. G. Kloder.
O.v tTiNAL Rksoldtions— A. NelBOD, J. H. Logan, S.W. Gilbert.
Treofiurer D. S. Holman, of Springfield, being sick and unable to attend, J. H. Logan was appointed treasarer pro tem. HOETICDLTUBB. MBB. J. M. PRBTZIHOKR, CLINTON'.
We have asBembled togetber at this roeettng to engage in the means to pro- mote an art tbat U suited to man and womaa'a highest Uestlny ; It is an art that la calonlated to afibrd tbo Intellect abundant thetnei, to wblch a patriarch's long life might be devoted wttb Increasing gladness, Tor It extends attove, aronnd and beneath us ; Its beauties are witbout limit, its varieties without end ; tbere is no haman science that is soamplelniterange, soattractlTe in Its allurements ; tbere la no oocnpatlon of man that 1b bo ennobling, or that brings blm so Intimately Id connection with natore and nature's God ; its votary has the wide world of beauty unfolded to bU view as a living landscape. Both as Bclenoe and as an art, hortlcuU ture, ifit be properly appreolated as abundant In Its reeources, hag numbered among Its votaries the wisest, ablest and beet men of all ages and of every nation ; they have gathered, transformed, naturalized and adapted to our uses whatever of earth's products can pleaae the eye, tatUfy the appetite or regale thcsenseB, or la of any uie whatever In Bustalnlng life, or promotingthe bapplneos of man. An art that Is so abundant In its resonroes, and that baa occupied the medltadone of the learned for pait ages, is worthy of at leaat a little of our consideration. It la the art that means gardening of every kind the world over. GardenlDg by the orchardist, the vlneyardlst, the florist and tbe tree planter. It Includes the amateur and tbe professional cuttlvator, tbe market gardener with his broad acres, and the poor woman with one solitary geranium.
In all well -organized bodies of workers, each member not only brings to tho meeting the experience be or she ban gained In bla avocation, but he ebowi a dla- posttlon to help others, and tf dilTerenoee arise in brushing against them, he may get some sharp acglee knocked off. But he will return home a (tetter Informed man, and If he has bad a good time, as he should have, be will be younger In heart. The Btudy and practice of bortlculture, or any other noble subject that brlnge man Id contact with nature, Inspires a tendency to keep the heart young. Horticulture Is a science, the t>tudy and advancement of which la well worthy of emulation; It has reference to the comfort, the beautyand tberetlnementof taomeand Its environ- ments, conducing to the promotion of the enjoyments, tbe pleasures and tbe real luznrles of civilized life; it prorootee reflnoment In ihe family circle, as shown tn tbe cultivation of beautiful plants and lovely flowers, tending to the adornment of home ; It teaches the best and moBt approved methods for the embellishroent of iMtth city and rural homes. Our homes are truly what we make them; and a home, let It be ever so humble, there la no place like home. There la an endleas
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_)'
gle
WINIBB MBBTING AT CLINTON. 217
Tarletf of waya in wblcta we may fiil onr homes with beauty It we will ; when every home haa Us flower garden and house plants, and every woman does half her honie- keeiilng ont of doors, making the borne a source of pleasure, we may then dedicate our floral treasures to the Deity and huraanitj, and thus carrying the love of God and man into one pleasure, make It one of the means of doing our Kttle share of blessing and being blessed. Our floral mlsslooa, taking the brightness of freah dowers into rooms filled with suffering, and oft-times sin and grief , they are like angels of mercy bringing tidings of purity and praoe. Hay the time soon come when every heart may welcome them, nnd every e^e rejoice at the presence of these gifts of love, fresh from our Father's band. *
OUR FLOWERING BITLBS.
ifr. President, Ladia and Qattltmtn:
Having been assigned the pleasant duty of fnrnlshing a paper on " Our Flower- ing Bnlbs," I take )t fbr granted that not simply a longennmeratlonof varletleaand kinds which could be classed under the above headlnif. but a few blots as to their proper cultivation, would be what thU tioolety requires of me. Hence, I take the liberty to oonflne myself to sucb classes and varieties as have come under my per- sonal observation and practical experience In cultivating the same, so as to obtain the best results In large and perfect flowers, and corresponding richness of color. A great many amatenrs with wboia I have had forreepondenoe appear to bare forme<< the belief that Just to buy the bulbs and put them in the ground Is alt that Is required, and success will naturally follow. In the first place, I would state, all 4ulbs require well-drained ground, and next Is the proper season for planting, proper depth, and, lastly, effloleut protection durlngonr quite often cold aad change- «ble winters. The proper time for planting hardy bulbs Is In the fall, during September and October, or later If the weather permits. Of all the bulbs In general «nltlvation, the lilies stand pre-eminent at the head of the list for the enormons size «f their florets, purity of color and msjestlo appearance. They are nearly all hardy in this State, but should be planted about six Inches under the snrfkce of the ground, and twelve Inches apart in the row or bed. If the eel) is of a heavy, clayey loam, I should prefer to plant the bulbs on a thin layer of sand, so as to prevent the bulb from decaying before commencing to grow : and when frost sets In the beds flboold be covered with four or flve Inches of manure. With tew exceptions, lilies succeed In our gardens admirably, and continue to increase tn strength and beauty, especially when left undisturbed for several years.
lAUam Aunxtitm, or, as It is commonly called, " The Gold-banded Lily of Japan," is a superb variety, producing flowers ten to twelve inches In diameter, -composed of sis white petals thickly studded with rich chocolate-crimson spots and having a bright golden-yellow band through the ceuter of each petal. To Its size snd beauty it adds an exquisite vanllla-llke perfume. As the bulbs acquire age and strength, the flowers attain their maximum size and number, and upward of twelve flowers on a single stem is not an uncommon production.
Liiium Candidvm, our common garden variety, with pure white fl otiers, aod seen in almost every coHection, Is also cultivated extensively In pots, blooming at>out Easter. It forms one of our principal flowers for church decoration, and 1b so well known as to hardly need comment. Lilitim Earritii, the Easter Illy of Bermuda, has large, pure white, trumpet-sbaped flowers, often seven or eight inches long. It Is a Illy of great beauty and exquisite fragrance, and la probably the most valuable and popular Illy In onltlvatlon. It Is espedally valuable for
218 BTA.TE HOBTJGULTURAL SOCIETY,
winter blooming, when tboaaitndH DiJon tbouiande are anaunll}' firown, and their beautlfal bloBBoma adorn tbe altars of our cburcbes, neddlng tables and dinner parties^ also In large clusters for funeral eoibleme.
Lillum Laneifoliwn, Album and Rubrum — Ibe former a jiure white and tta» latter a wblte and red spotted variety of the Japan class — are botb very fine for garden culture. If Itlles are wanted for ninter blooming in potd, the dry bnlbft ehoald be placed l:i live or aix-inch pote, according to tbe size of tbe Dulb, and abont balf way down In tbe pot. The reason why Illy bulbs should be so planted is, wben tbey have grown a few tncbes above the pot they send oat a number of roots along the steok, and nnless these roots can find their way Into the soil and add etrength to the plant. It Is Impossible to obtain the best success. After the bulbs- have been so planted the pots should be sunk In the ground outside In a protected place and given a good watering, after which they should be covered with four or five inches of loose eoII, where thej' remain until the pots are well AUed witb root-s, which generally taues six or eight weeks. Should frost appear before tbey are removed Into tbe house, a molohtng of a few inches of manure would be well as a further piotection. After tbey have been removed to the bouee, tbey afaould be kept In a cool room until the advanced top becomes green, when they can stand and should be given more heat, acoordlng to the time they are wanted to bloom.
Calla EtMopiea, or Lily of the Nile, Is an old but favorite variety, which noone- can aflbrd to overlook. It grows freely, requiring an abundance of water, pro- ducing during tbe winter large spade-like pure white flowers. Tbe Calla require* to be rested during tbe hot months of summer, which Is best done by withholding- water and turning the pots on their sides in some sbady place. Alter this rest the Calla should be repotted Into good rich soil and started into growth, a single bull> often producing four to six bioasome in a season.
The Hyacinth Is J ustly entitled to the great popularity it bae attained , as no plant will produce such beautlfu! spikes of blossoms with so little care and latior. Tbe HyaclDtb Is perfectly hardy, and If wanted for tbe garden should be planted oat In October or any time later, before the ground freezes up. 'Ihe bulbs should be planted about four inches below tbe lurfaoe of the soil. A light rich soil, thor- oughly worked, suits them best. BeforBtheadventoffnAt a light mulohing should be given, in the spring tbe longer parts of the manure should be removed to give a better chance for tbe young growth to posh through. When well underway they should be covered on cold frosty nights with muslin, and wben in bloom should likewise be protected on windy days against duet, as their beautiful large spikes of bloasoms are of such a character as to be easily damaged by dust. Wltb care such as the above bestowed upon them, tbey will surprise the cultivator wltb an array of flowers which for splendor and richness are not excelled by any other class of plants. Where byaolntba are wanted for pot cultare tbey should be placed In 5-)nch pots, near the surface of tbe ]M>t, and afterward treated In the manner spoken of previously for liUea. For early forcing snd winter bloomlngtfae single hyacinths will be found fsr better than the double varieties.
Tulips make an excellent show in our gardens during tbe spring months, and from their brilliance or color and easy culture have become general favorites. When wanted for pot culture only tbe early varieties should be selected, and given a treatment similar to byacintba.
Tbe NarcUsuB are another branch of the bulb family, deservedly papular. Alt the varieties of this clnss are hardy with the exception of the Polyantha Narcissus, wbicb Bhon'd be used for winter bloouaiog aud treated similar to hyacinths.
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TIIfTBR HBETINQ AT OLINTON. 219
Now, Mr. FrMtdent, the Odd ualgoed U> me Is h> larg« that it might take days to onlf mention aPew of ttaeendleaa vnrletr of flowering bulbi Id enltlTatlon, and I jhall nov odIj allude to tbe Snowdrop and Crocna, which ;oa all know are the bcBt Indlcatora of the coming sprlne.
I Bhoold have liked to toncb upon the sanimpr flowering bultw, aneh as the Olsdlolus and others, bat time forbids, and I will leave them until tbe summer, when tbe Socletjr casta Its ftatlve tent around the Insclons etrawben? and pro- claims with tbe rest of the worid " there la nothing like It."
Then followed a recitation by Miss Addie Kiatler, GlintoD, very nicely rendered, iodeed.
THE INCEPTIOS AND HISTORY OK THB MISSOURI STATE HORTICUL- TURAL »0U1E1'Y.
In undertaking to write an historic sketch of the Ulssoarl State Bortlcaltural Society, its life and transactions, I had but a dim Idea of the formidablencas of the task. Had I duly oonsldend It, it would never have been undertaken bj me. Even now, that but little has been accompli ibed. It must of neoeaslty be fragmentarj, and if f ou will remember that In order to write It, the consnltlng of all tbe volnmes of ;oor transactions was required and read, in part at least, I fear I ebsli not be able to hold your attention, because It Is difficult to avoid repetition and to make bare facts interesting. Overlook the faults you are snre to notice, and grant me your IndDlgent attention.
Of one thing I am pleased, namely, that the early history of which President KvaoB and Jadge Hlller said they had no knowledge, and of which even Henry T. Hudd, for Dine years a President of this Society — even In tbe time of tbe '' wah '* — oonid find no printed record, has been happily brought to light, and will now, per- haps, have an enduring place In yonr transactions.*
Vou will notice from what an bumble beginning, step by step, the Society has made progress, until now It ranks with tbe best In the land. If yon argue that the membership Is small, I refer you to the volume for tSS7, and, granting that the membership of tbe parent Society Is amail, we point to the large membership of the county societies as onr legitimate children. Yon will then please notice the Bleeding modesty, not to say humllltj, when after Ave years of begging among friends, they petition the Legislature for the pitiful pittance of onehundred dollars — say SlOO — a year to assist in puOlisbtng tbe transactions that a record might be pieserved, while all the time the offlcers and members have i^ven time and money and labor to keep the breath of life In the Society.
After twelve long years of usefulness the 'Society receives from the State the mnnlllcent sum of a thousand dollars a year, Its reports being printed with those of the State Board of Agriculture, and Is thus enabled to pay Its Secretary $900 per year.
From such small beginnings this Society became the mother of our State Board of Agriculture, and In regular sequence also of our Agrlcnltural college and tbe Agrlcnltural Experiment station.
Its piibllsbed transactions are a hortlcultn/al library In themselves. Its orig- inal papers and essays. Its poetic quotations, were not written to live "but a day;" they win be read with Interest as long as the State and the nation exist.
B former borticnltonl ediloj, with rajtrlt staod-
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220 STATB HORTIODLtUKlL SOCIBTY.
The harmoDy &nd ^ood-fellowatalp of Its members aoiong themselvet, and tbelr aDftelfiata labors, as well aa their btgh morality and truly Cbrlattan coodnot, vUI meet, as they deserve, the approbation of all right-thinking men, and serve as ex- amples to our children's children.
And wheo we consider the practical writings of such men as Dr. John A. Warder, of Ohio; Drs. Long and Hd!I, of Alton. III.; Wlllard F'lagg, of Moro, lU.; Rev.Chas. Peabody, Drs. C.W. Spalding and B.(!lagg«tt, of Mtssonrl— and I might Justly name dozens of men from our own State In this connection— we are led to «xolalm, "verily, there were giants lu those daysl " Let ns twine a chaplet of evergreens and flowers of sweet odors around their memory to-day, and embody it as an in memoriam In this historic sketch.
And let me not nmlt here to record the fact that In our pnblio acknowledg- ments of Him who ruleth In the heavens and doeth His pleasure among the children of men, it was not In vain that we craved His blessings upon our transactions, anb- mlsslve to His will, and His protecting care over ne In our travels to and fto. 1 do not now recall a single mishsp toa member while In attendance npon onr meet- ings. To Ood be all the glory !
OBIGIN AND HISTOBT OF MIgBOtJBI STATE HOBTICOLTITBAL 80CIBTT.
[n the summer of 1S5S a number of tbe citizens of Heramec township united to fbrm the Uemmeo Horticultural Society, the officers of which were : President, Dr. A. ff . HoPberson ; vioe-president, Samuel Wilson ; recording secretary, Wil- liam Unlr; corresponding secretary, Charles H. Haven; treasurer, Philip TIppett. The members of this society felt the want of a State organization, and, being ^e- . qnently in St. Louis, met with N. J. Colman, Garew Sanders, F. R. Elliot (then ftom Cleveland, Ohio), John Garnett, Dr. C. W. Spalding and other lovers of hortlcultare. The result was tliat In the November issue of the Valley Farmer the editor, N. J. Colman, pabllshed a call requesting the fruit-growers of Missouri to meet at Jef- ferson City on Wedneidsy, the second week after the Legislature met, for the purpose of forming a HIssonri Fruit-Qrowers' Association. The object of this association was declared to be to have the fruit-growers meet together annually, or seml-annnally, oroftener If It bethought advisable, for the purpose of discussing the merits of the various varieties ot fruit that were cultivated, to determine ^om experience which were best, and to recommend such varieties as were worthy of cultivation, and to r^ect such aa were unworthy.
Following this call, tbe fruit-growers convened at Jefferson City, at which meeting It was reaolved (January S, 1S59) to form a state organization, for tbe pnrpose of advancing and directing the frult-gtowing Interests of Missouri and the West, under the name and title of "The Hlssourl Frult-Qrowers' Association." Prof. George C. t^watlow was oalled to the chair, and F. R. Elliot appointed secre- tary. Messrs. Elliot, Wells and Hussman were appointed a committee to report a consiltutlon and by-laws, which wa« done and tbe constitution adopted. Perma- nent officers were then elected, with the following result :
pRuaiDiiiT— Norman J. Colman, of St. Louis.
Vica-PB aaiDKHTs— First Congressional district— Dr. A. W. UcPherson, AUenton. Second Congressional district — l^of. George C. Swallow, Columbia. Third Congressional district— Gen. H. Horner. Fourth Congressional district— Dr. HcGnlre, Platte county. Fifth Congressional district— Eld ridge Snrden. Lafayette county.
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VINTBB HBKTma AT CLINTON 221
Sixth OongresalODKl district— William C. Ptloe, Greeoe county.
Seventh Congreislonal district— John Dedrick, PUttii Book. Kbcordinq SbgritahV— F. R. Elliot, of St. LonU. CoRBBSPONDUiO SKCRBrAKY — Qeofge HuMiiiftn, of Herm&D. .TRUHURKs—John Garoett, of St, Loaia. At this meeting the apple was fuUj dlBcnssed ; alao tree-planting and grape-
SPBCIAI. IlKBTISa AT T&l PAIR QttOVSDe, BT. LOUIS.
In accordance nlth a published call, a number of the members of this aaaoota- tloo convened at PomoloKical ball, on the Fali' gronndB of the St. Louis Agricaltaral sod Mecbantcal association, on Tuesday, the 2rth day of tleptember, at S a. m. Many of the members not having arrived, on motion, the Society adjourned to meet at the same place on the following day. At 1 o'clock p. m. Wednesday the Society met according to adjournment; President Col man in the chair; L. D. Horse, of AJleoton, elected secretary.
There was quite a display of fralta aad wines ; also several varieties of new grapes. A committee, consisting of Messrs. Hazelttne, Hussman, Haven , Cannon and Swing, was appointed to "test the wines," which they did, and daly reported.
FIRST AKNUAL NBKTINa.
The first annual meeting of the Hlssoarl Fmit-Orowers' association was held at Jeflerson City, commencing December 37, 1SG9; Norman J. Colman In the chair. This session was largely devoted to the preparation of a list of the several frnits ; a vote being taken on the several varieties adopted. " The protection of frnlt-trees Bgalnst climatic agencies " was fully discussed.
The election of ofHcers being In order, the president and all the vice-presidents were re-elected, llecordlng secretary, William Hnlr, LaborvUle ; corresponding lecietary, Dr, L. D. Horse, AltentOD ; treasurer, Dr. C. W. Spalding.
At the close of the flrst annual meeting, the following is a list of membera and postoffloe address of each :
John Oarnett, St. Louis.
Ben. P. Hiokman,8t. Lonis.
Norman J. Colman, St. Lonis.
Robert S. Mitchell, St. Louie.
W. W. Stickney, St. Lonis.
V. S. Rannells, St. Louis.
P. Papln, St. Louis.
6. B. Lewis, St. Louis.
F.U. Elliott, St. Louis.
Carew Sanders, St. Louis.
JobnPalton, St. Louis.
G. C. Swallow, Columbia.
Odin Gnltar. Columbia.
tt. W Welle, Jefferson City.
E. (.. Edwards, JefferB'>a City.
A. W. UorrlsoD, Jefferson City.
J. I.. Uinor, Jefferson City.
Isaac Dwight, Jefferson City,
P. T. Miller, Jefferson City.
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322 STATB HOBTIODLTDBAX SOOIBT?.
A. W. MoPherooD, Allenton.
Jolin S. Seymoiir, AllentoD.
OeoTce HusBmBiiD, Heraisnn.
Jacob Rommel, Hermann.
G. G. Uanwarlng, Hermann.
George Kllnge, Hermann.
Jamee L. Bell, Bell Air, Cooper county.
James H. Walker, Belt Atr, Cooper oountj.
l^wiB UtttchlBon, Bell Air, Cooper oonnty.
N. I^onard, Bell Air, Cooper ooantf.
John D. Read. TuscumblK, Miller oouuty,
W. A.Davldaon. Cambridge, Saline conntf.
U. P.Tarltoii, Cambridge, Saline lount;.
JobQ F. BuBtoD, CarroUloa.
W. Klchter, Morse's Mill P. Q., Jefferson county.
W. P. Darnea, Commerce, Scott county.
Samuel HoQutre, Parkvllie, Platte county.
£. Burden, Lexington.
Wm. Newland, Uydeaburg, Rails county.
Jochaa Chilton. Eminence, tjbannon county.
T. C. WllUamB, Iron Hill, Franklin county.
Sol. P. McCurdy, Weston.
Jamea Raines, Saicoxie.
Walter B. Morris, Bridgeton, St. Louis county.
J. R.Rnby, Bellmont, St. Louts connty.
Henry M. Hyen, BoouTlUe.
Alexander Snyder. Boooville.
O. Bralnard, Oaaawottonile, K. T.
O. J. Hallinckrodt, Augusta, St. Charles county.
Dr. J. B. H. Beale, Earetca, Allenton, St. Louis county.
E. R. Mason, tit. Louis.
L. D. Yoteaw, Eureka, Allenton, St. Loois county.
William Wesselbotr, Hermann, Qaaoonade connty.
Wm. Hulr, LaborvlUe. Melrose P. O., St. Louis county.
Job. O'Neil, St. Louis.
Dr. W. A. Curry, JeBerson City.
Dr. C. W. Spalding, St. LoaU.
A. L. Tylei, Bonbomnie, St. Louis county.
Gen. J. L. Minor, Jefferson City.
F. J. North, Labadle, Franklin oounty.
A special meeting (President Colman In the chair) was held at Hermann, September 7th, IS60, at which twelve new members were admitted. There were presented at this meeting a large number of specimens and seedliog apples ; also samples of wines and some canes of the Catawlssa raspberry. There were over thirty varletlcB of grapes on exhibition. There was the uaual committee on wines and their report.
It was on motion
Baolvtd, TbatwecoTdJ≪ kppiova of the objector Ihs "ManunecHortlcnltnralSooleC;,"
Tsoommendlag tbe calling of a Farman' oauTeatlon to meat at Jeffenon City fbr the pnniose oT taking Into ooDddaiatlon meaaniet for agrlcnltmal ImpioTcmeiit In Hluonri.
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WINTER U&ETING AT OLinTON. 223
TMb was the nDol«Ds of the State Board of Agriculture and the AgrlculturaJ college.
THE aecoNit &NKI
Of the State Fmlt-Growers' aeBodatioD was held in St. Louis, January Bth, 1861, PreBldent N. J. Colman preeidlng.
Nineteen new raemhers were elected
There was a very Urge dliplay of frulta.
Other by-Iawg were adopted.
PreeldeaC Colman teeliag'lj declined re-election and thanked the memben for kindnesB received while In office.
Dr. C. W. Spalding waa elected president. All the vice-presidents were re- elected with the exception In the Fourth dlatrict, W. L. Irvine of Buchanan county, and Seventh district, W. S. Jewett, Pevely; recording secretary and treasurer, ffm. Mulr of LaborvUle, Melrose P. O.
Lists of six. twelve and twenty varieties of apples were recommended for orchards of a thousand trees.
Small fruits were also discussed at lecgth.
The attendance was very large, and a wlde-apread Interest was manifested by the press and all olaases of citizens. The hotels were remarkably liberal.
TRB THIRD ANNUIL MIBTIKO
Was held in the room of the Probate court, St. Louis, January U, 1862.
Dr. C. W. ijpaldlng, president-elect, wbb Introduced by Ms predecessor, N. J. Colman, wlfh complimentary remarks. Dr. Spalding, on taking the chair, ad- dressed the Society In a most beautiful and forcible maDoer. Id the ooDrae of fals remarks he alluded to the Importance of changing the designation ( name ) of the Association, ao as to allow of a wider scope of useful knowledge and diaoussion, suggesting the name of "Missouri State Hortlcnitural Society," as more appropri- ate than the name of Fruit-Growers' Association.
Before the close of this session the title or name as recommended was adopted.
Fourteen new members were admitted.
Apples, pears, wine and Implements were on exhibition or prcaented to the Society.
THB FOURTH ANNUAL MIRTINa
Was held In at. Louis January 13, 1863, and the following days. Sickness had pre- vented the President, Dr. Spalding, from preparing his regular annual address. On motion ,
Raolvtd, That ftcammttteeoIfiTe.orwtiichthe Preildent sball be ode, bekppolnled to memO' liallie theSUteLeglBlataiein Tegkrdto tba AgrleaUural colle|:e>Dt oi CongreBB, and atbmmHteTB pettainiDK to the sgrlaaltiirsl inlereste of the St>te.
The following oamea were appointed SDoh committee : Dr. L. D, Horse, N. J. Oolman, a«o. flussman, T. R. Allen and the President. The programme reported covered the entire list of fruits and ornamentals. (Another step forward.)
On moilon,
Kaalaal, That the State hBTlnitieeently le-dlBtTloted, >o mnoh of the oonstltntlon U BtatCB. there ahsUbe a Ttcs-preddeiitfrom each CongteBBtonal dUtilct, be repealed, and that the 8odct7 ■hall elect Bve (S) Tlee-preBldenta,
The following offlcers were elected : President—Henry T, Mndd, St. Lonls. Vloo-Fresldent— Dr. B. F. Edwards, St. Louis.
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234 STATB HOBTECULTCJB&L SOOIBTT.
Vioe-PreBident— O. H. P. Lear, Hanolbal, Mo. Vlce-Preildent — iBaac Snedlolier, Jergeyvllle, IIU. Vice-PreBlrtent— Wlllltm Hadley, ColllnBvllIe, Ills. Vice-President— Geo. Huatman, HermaDO, Uo. Corresponding Secretary — Dr. L. D. Morse. St. Louis. Recording Secretary and Tretsurer— Wm. Mulr, Fox Creeh, Mo. The sgTicultaral oommlttee report In favor of petlttoDing the Legislature of the State to aooept the coadltions of the Agrlcaltaral oollege act of Congress.
2. To pass 8D aot to establish, a State Board of Agriculture.
3. To appropriate 100 dollars for the purpose of aiding the publication and d!i- trtbutlon of the proceedings of this Society.
Adopted, and referred back to the committee for the necessary aotloo .
An able report upon the Imlts on the table was made by Dr. John A. Warder of Ohio.
(Notice the several important stepe taheu at thie meeting, eepecl&lly organiza- tion of a State Board of Agriculture recommended, etc., and the membership. of I11I- nolsana, and electing them as officers.)
PreildsTit Spalding Introduced the Preside nt elect, Henry T. Mudd, who re- turned thanks for the honor conferred, and hoped to be excused from ofibrlng any special address at this time.
On motion, the following resolatlon was passed :
XtnlMi, TbBt wt TMommend sn apprapTiBUon by ConKmi of meina aundeDt to eatabUilt ■Dd nulntalD aii dxpeHmentkl fmlt and vegeCable garden atoi oear WatMastoa. D C. . nndnttae dlreotloD ortheCominlaslouflror&gTlaDltiiTe. from whioh depanmeat w« a* hoTticnltadiU eoler- tain tbe blKheat bopea to tbl« great iDtereat, to wit; The agrlonltnre of our oODDtTy.
Dr. W^arderreadsTery Interesting essay on the Van Uons theory of propaga- tion,tIz.. by raising continually ftom the first ripened seedB of the trees. (It will be remembered that Van Mons paid especial attention to the raising of new varie- ties of pears.)
Ml. Willard C. Flagg, of Horo, Illinois, also read an essay on the apple, which created a lengthy discussion on varleUts. (Ur. Flagg's papers always were ex- haustive and thorough.)
An essay on grapes, by Geo. Hussman, had the same effect.
The " Spiral Theory of Pollation" was the subject of an essay by Dr. Warder.
Wm . Mulr offered an essay on the pear.
Dr. Claggett read a report on "Summer Pruning," and Jonathan Hngi^ns offered an essay on "Timber Trees."
THZ FlFrH ANNUAL UXKTtNO Was held In St. Louis, January 13, 1864.
The session was 0[>ened by prayer by Kev. Dr. Post.
(Notice, please, another step to the right direction.)
President Henry T. Mudd read his annual address.
N. J. Colman, ohalrman of the business oommlttee, suggested that as eaoh session had about gone over the same ground, that Ibe notion of this meeting be confined to the selection of a few of the choicest varieties of the various ftuUs for l^mily and market. On these lines discussion commenced with apples.
Dr. B. F. Long, of Alton, Illinois, read a paper on "Live Fences."
A. PettingUI, of Bunker Hill, Illinois, an essay on the "Pear and Its Cnltnre." This was fbllowed by discussion on the.ssme subject.
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WINTBR MBBtinO AT CLINTON. 225
Dr. C. W. Spalding:, Wm. Hadley, B. Smith, Dr. B. F. Long and Jamea Keller acted a« a committee on fruits.
An address bj K. S. Elliot, of St. Loals, ontbe '"Inflaenoe of Woman on Bor- ticaltnral Pursnita," was read. (It affords me pleaanre to be able to aabmlt a oop;, anit irtlme allows 1 hope It will be read at this meeting.)
The election of offlcera resulted aa follows :
President, Henry T. Mudd; Vlce-PreBldents, Dr. B. F. Edwards.St. LottlB, T. A. Qalnette, 9t. Louis, B. iitmltb, Cuba, Jonathan Hngglns, Illinois, and Dr. B. S. HdU, Alton, Illinois; Corresponding Secretary, Dr. L. D. Horae; Beoordlng Secretary, Wm. Mutr; Treasurer, Jno. H. Tloe.
TBB SIXTH AKNOaL HBBnvo Wae held In the Supreme conrt room, St. Lools, on January 10, 1863, and the fol* lowing days. President Mudd In the chair. The meeting was opened by prayer by Bev. Dr. Elliott. I^t us listen to the llrst opening sentence of the President's address :
"The eTtar-vslGirul cus and gaaidUoBhlp at Uim whaTalelh all tblngB, ritsnded la our pi«- B«mUon from the muif dangen wblcta tbTfateued ns dDTlag the year (hat 1b pact, enables na to mcctDnder man; eTldeneeiorBlBOODtlanedraTorfOT the alith annual coaTeDtloD of oni Society."
(When we remember the years Just closed when these words were written, we will appreciate their slgnlflcanoe. While I had In contemplation to write thte sketch, Mr. Mndd has told me that this Society was the only one of Its kind la this State that lived and held Its regular meetings during the entire war.)
On motion of N . J. Colman, the publisher, Ur. C. M. Saxton, formerly of New York, now of St. Louis, was elected an honorary member. (Another step forward.;
During this session, qalte a discussion was had on the propagation of grape- vine from a single eye.
About a dozen members took part In disonsslon on the strawberry, among these a numberof doctors, to wit : Urs. Claggett, Uinor, Hall and Long, a strong quartette .
The essay of Qeo. Hussman and the remarks of Dr. Herman Schroeder pro- voked a long discussion upon the diseases of the grape— the first Intimation we have of mildew and rot.
Committees on fruits and wines were still to order.
Prof. Tice read a paper on our "Wild Flowers," with a very large list, giving both the commoa and scleutlQc names. I copy one brief sentence and a couplet :
"Fot cheerful ladaenoeB that speak tD thebearuof all, there 1> nothing like Qaweri)" "WhOMfoleeleaBllps are living preacben, Eichonp apnlplt, and each leaf a book."
Here also we encounter another trouble for the horticulturist. Dr. Claggett, chemist, reports for the committee on "Pear Blight."
Prof. Tlce reports from Ihe committee on entomology, and the committee sug- gest that the Legislature now tn session do pass a law for the protection of Inseo- ttvorouB birds.
Dr. Minor presents an essay on Bee Keeping.
B. R. Mason offers an essay on Drainage, which we find full of good sugges- tltms.
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226 HTAIB HOBTIOULTDBAI. SOOIBTY.
Tbe oommtttee on vioeyarde report for Alton, Rlghlund, UaecouUb and Belle- Tllle, 111., and from Hermann, Mo. Never did tbe grape lUt reoelve a mors thoroDgh overhauling.
TBI eiVCNTH mSVih HEBTUJQ
Waabeldlnoneor the court-rooms, St. Lonl>, January a, 1S66. PreBtdent Henrr T. Madd in the ohalr. £ver; morning aeuion waB opened by prayer, Eevs. Pea- body, Coe and Prof. Barler offloiating.
TblB wai the first wtBlan In which yonr hnmbiu servant took a part at th« representative of tbe "Prairie Farmer," of Cblcago, lU., and I And the record oon- tatns a little paper whloh I had the privilege to offer. It oontalns nothing that I wish to t&ke back, altboagh some of my propbecles have not yet been fnlflUed. Padron, If you please, this bit of egotism, and also this:
Mr. Uartfeldt— I wish that something like tbe resolution I now propose might have tweo offered by some one from Hlsiouil :
Ritohitd, That Id Hetr oF the xmat dastmotlon iif trait and rann dop* b; blrda *nd bueeta, the State Hortlooltaral 90(det; reeommBnda to tbe Leglalatata of the State the appointment oT an entomologlat andoTnlthologlal to ((Ive the ceoaaaary InformatloD to the rariner sad fmlt -grower, to enable them Co deteimlne wblch blida and Inaeote are filenda or enemiea.
The Society adopted the resolution. As far as my memory serves me, this was a very interesting and weli-attended session. X learn also by a motion made by N. J. Colroan thai tbe memberihlp fee shall be two dollars Instead or one, and that the Society hitherto had ashed for and received voluntary subscription. In the treasurer's report we And four Items, to wit :
Debit, $166.80; credit, $9200; balance on hand, $74.80. Notice how small the account and how rich, with a balance of S74.S0.
Progress : Four standing committees, to wit : Buatness, Entomology, Vine- yards and Orchards, with ten specials, Inclading a Committee of Arrangements for meeting of American Pomological society.
Officers for 1S6H :
President, Henry T. Mudd; Vice-Presidents, Geo Hussman, O. H. P. Lear, Barnabas Smith, Dr. B. F. Edwards sad Dr. W. L. Dyer; C. M. ijaxtdn. Cor- responding Secretary, St. Louis; Wm. Hulr, Recording Seoretarj, Fox Creek; JobnH. Ttoe, Treasurer.
(We hoped to have the reports of other meetings given in their order. Mr. Martfeldt was nnable to obtain a complete report of all the meetings, and there are necessarily so many omissions that we omit the rest and hope some day to complete tbem Secretary.)
Then followed a song by Frof. Hall, of Baird college, Clinton, Mo.
HORTICULTURAL GEOLOGY.
FItOl'. EtIWtN WALTERS, KANSAS CrFY.
We are dally learning that all truths are, In some way, related— that there is a point beyond which one cannot consistently "magnify bU offloe," especially If be does so to tbe disparagement of other avocations and lines of investigation. It is the work of this generation to discover truths. Future generations wilt harmon- ize and correlate them. This observation IS especially applicable to tbe truths of all of tbe natural sciences and the application of their principles to the daily affiilrs of human activity. TTe gradnally learn that one cannot be thoroughly welt in- formed on any subject without being acquainted with a number of subjects or
WINTPiE MBBTING AT CLIMION. 227
bruichea that are related to it. The aBtronomer mnst Qoderstsod pbjBloB, mathe- matlcB aad somettalngof chemietr^. The ohemlat mnst be Informed in phjaloi, and have at leut a taXr linowledge of mathematioa. The Hat of correlated branohea could be extended Indefinitely.
Thla much can now be safely claimed : The natural iclencea Ke at the foun- ditloii of a thorough Icnovledge of every avocation that haa to deal wllh material thlDgs. The progress of the human race is measured by the degrees towhlcblt applies the principles of natural science . When we know to what extent the peo- pla of a given age or nation applied the principles of natural science, we know, without terther Inqnlry, to what plane of clvUlzatlaQ It attained.
Claaelcsdlrectonrthougble backward for models. The ectences Invite usto go forward, to discover something better than the dead past ever knew. If civil- ization depended on the past, all progress would be in a circle ; all knowledge woDld be largely seoond-handed ; all the principal faculties of the mind that would be developed would be memory and imitation. Possibly herein lies a reason for believing that man descended from the monkey ! The monkey Is a great Imitator E
Let us put away childish things and push forward — leaving the wrangles and disputations of Cicero, Hare Antony and Caesar to those who have more time than wa to study the history of the human ruee when in its infancy. Let ns Insist on the sciences having their proper places In our school and college courses of study. As a rule, they are sadly neglected. A few second-hand Ideas are given oat and labeled "the natural sciences." Too often, experiment, observation, personal investigation— aotnal work — are entirely omitted.
What should the hortlcnlturtst know of the natural aclBDoesf A knowledge of all of them would greatly benefit him. But It Is essential that he know lometblng of botany, Including plant physiology, agriouUursl chemistry, entomology, orni- thology, the elements of meteorology and geology. Why all of these ? The higher an avooation, ihe greater and wider should the range of knowledge be to success- fully pursue It.
Inasmuch as bortlcultDre, Including floriculture. Is the highest branch of hus- bandry, the knowledge necessary to fully qualify one for Its pursuit must take In an extended range. No other rural pursuit requires such high intelligence; no other Is so Important to a high civilization. Without it the present civilization would, at best, be In a stste of " hog-and-homlny " savagery.
Before proceeding to discuss the main points of the subject under considera- tion, attention is called to material environments as factors la human history. Geology, meteorology and chemistry afford the key to history. A thorough know- ledge of the philosophy of history, past, present and prospective, it eeems to the writer, must depend upon, or include, a knowledge of these branches of natural aolenoe.
The chemistry of the rocks determines the physical features of a race or people. Han, being largely a creature of circumstances and environments, must, necessa- rily, conform to his surronndings. The nearer be Is to a savage state the more will he be iiifiuenct-d by attending conditions.
As mental and moral traits so universally accompany certain physical features of the person, the destiny of a race largely depends on tLe rocks on whiob It dwells. It must he remembered that the term rock, in geology, means and Includes any and all earthy substances, such as soils, clays, shales, coal, limestone, mud, and even water.
If the human race would ever advance to the high plane of moral and mental manhood that is its gieatest possibility, the circumstances of rocks and climate- meteorology — wonlu not enter as such Important factors in human history. But we
228 STATE HOBTIGT7LT7BAL SOCIBTTY.
must acknowledge the bets as we discover tliem, even though brdolag bqw« acknowledge that man is "of the earth earthj." The most civilized and enlight- ened peoples are no exceptions to the rule. If It were not for two neutralizing w distatbing factore, these underlying principles of the philosophy of history would have been discovered and applied long ago. These are trnmlgratlon and the Im- portation of articles of diet. The Influx of new races and food products Deutrallzea the local effect of rocks and climate. When a race lives In social and commercial Isolation for several generations, Us physical and, consequently, its mental and mnral character Is tics are fully determined by its ohysloal surroandlngB. The topography of a country Is stamped on the physical features of the Inhabitants of that country. The use of lime or other alkaline waters makes the complexion dark. Those who live In moantalnous countries are more angular, to correspond with the proAleof tfae country tbey Inhabit. Thoae wbollve on high, dry plains, where there Is much sunshine, have the pupils of tbetr eyes permanently con- tracted. Rotund people originate In hilly or gently rolling countries, 'Vhe Eiquf- maux are small boaed because their food and drink contain so little lime — a bone- tnaklug material. Huxley has observed that staves, or nations that have been enslaved, lived on allavlal soils, and that no people who lived on granite or granite rocks were ever reduced to slavery. Examples sufSclent to occupy the space of a volame could be given.
If thegreat law of adaptation to geological environments Is of somuoh Impor- tance In the study, and In determining the destiny, of the human race, how much more important Is 11 to a proper understanding of plant life.
Certain plants must always be aseociated with certain rock fbrmattons. Many plants have a wide habitat, considered geologically, but, as a rale, they attain tbetr highest perfection In particular geological formations. A certain narrow-fronded fern is called to mind, whlcb I have never observed except growing on the limes- stones of the Carboniferous and Sub-Carboniferous periods. White oak Is a tree of genera' dUtrlbution In most parts of the temperate zone, yet Itf wood is not valu- able for the highest purposA to which white oak Is put, unless It grows on clayey soils, such as are moat abundant in the Silurian and 3ub-Carboolferous periods.
The apple and all frult-bearlng plants are subject to this law of geological adaptation. It Is true that man can, by the application of manures and by other artificial means, supply the deficiencies of nature or neutralize the antagonistic elements of the soil, but these results can only be obtained to a limited degree and at an additional expense over that oT more favored localities, i^uch attempts are mora or less abortive.
When fruit-plants must be treated as exotics, their yield will be deficient in some Important particulars; this Is usually In the Item of flavor. If in notbing else. All have observed the wide difference In the flavor of the apple in different locali- ties. Apples are common to something like two-thirds of the United States; jet the belt In which they attain their highest perfection. In the particular quality of flavor, Is limited to two or three geological periods. These periods are the Carbon- iferous, ^ub- Carboniferous and Ijower Silurian periods. Take a gedogical map of the United States and examine It. You will find that the finely flavored apples of Western New York grow principally on the Niagara limestone. The Michigan applebeUlsprluclpally on the Niagara and Lower SUnrlan llmeatonee. Western Pennsylvania, a portion of Eastern Ubio and Western West Virginia are cele- brated for the flavor of their apples. The best apples of these localities grow on Carboniferous, Sub- Carboniferous and Silurian rocks.
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Wma'BB MEBTIBa AT OLINl-ON. 229
Coming farUier west, th« great apple dletrlcta of ^outhwegtero Ulseouri taA Noithweatera ArkaDiu are to the Sub- Carboniferous and Lower Sllarlan periods. Hen we tiod tbe famoug cave — probably BurllDgton limestone — together with the chertf, SiDty Keoltuit linieatoDe, or "JopUn flint," botli lo common to the Ozark region. Tbe loeu or blulT formation is a good fiult boII. Tbe jocts of the carboD- iferoDB period form a baali for boIIb adapted to tbe growth of the apple, as tbe tialta of Illinois, Iowa aod Northern uid Weatero Ulssonrl attest. Bat there is do one rock formation tbat seema to form bo good a basis for apple soils as the cave limentoDB, oommon toHontbweetern HisBonri, Northwestern Arkansas, a portion of Kentuokf «nd a portion of tbe oonntrles pientioned above.
Tbe rooks adapted to the peach are Eomewbat different. It requires more Iron, and, being of a semi-tropical habit, is better adapted to light, sandy Bolls.
The peach belt of the United States begins with the sandy, ferruginous, Iron- like soils of Delaware and New Jersey , and extends with several gaps or breaks to the sandy Talleys of Calirornia and the Facino slope, Sand is composed of de- composed quartz. Quartz originates In szolc, granitic rocks; hence, sand is most abnadant In the azoic period. In many countries the azoic rocks, which are the lowest rooks In the earth's crust, have been lifted -np when moantalns were tbnned, and now occupy poattlons higher above sea level than tbe newer or yonngerroeks do. Aji an example, take the granitic rocks of the Bocky mountains ; tfaey are much above any portions of Missouri, yet they belong from five to six miles, geologically oonildered, beneath us. As these gronltlr, rocks have decom- posed and eroded, they have freed granular quartz EuOlclent to aObid a layer of s»nd over the soils and olays and other rocks of the countries that oocnpy lower levels. Tbe peach tree tbrivea In such tolls where fuvorably located in other rMpeots. Bat, aofortDDately, meteorotogy here asserts Itself as a ruling hctor.
A sandy soil la favorable to rapid evaporation of moisture and great radiation of heat. Along tbe moist ooast of the Atlantic, notably In Delaware and New Jersey, tbls tendency of sandy soli is checked, and the peach, receiving the tail benefit of a favorable soli, attains tbe highest degree of perfection known in the United StMee. To snm up then , and localize, the peach flourishes in azoic rocks, or on soils derived directly from them.i |Tbe slopes of tbe Blue Kidge, Alleghany, Bocky, and of all of onr monn tains tbat are oompoeed largely of granitic bed-rook are adapted, geologioally, to the growth of tbe peach. Where too dry, as Is well known to most of you, tbe flavor of tbe peach Is inferior. In some of tbe driest portions of California, the peaches are almost tasteless.
The pear Is quite similar in its geological distribution to the apple. It Is fner twom blight In a sandy loam. With sob-drainsge, it will flonrish almost anywhere that tbe apple will, except that Its natural habitat Is not so far north.
It win be seen from the remarks on the apple that tbe favorite rock for apple soils Is limestone. But all limestones are not favorable. As a rule, the Devonian limestones are not good as a basis for fruit soils. It Is probable that It Is because they do not decompose so readily as do the llmeslODes of the periods mentioned .
The rocks that are Impervions to water afford a poor basis for fruit soils. Hauy western [rult-growers have learned this to their sorrow. Shales of fine texture, improperly oalled aoap-atone. unctuous, oily olays, or any Impervious ma- terial, make bad subsoils tor fruit. If they are not too close to the surface they do not Interfere with tbe growth of grain and other annuals that receive their earth- food from near the inrface, but trees reach down to bed-rock, and if the bed-rock atTords their roots no moisture their vigor Ib Impaired. Tbe reason for such a state of affairs is mechanical.
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390 STATE H0BTI01TLTUBA1. SOGIBrY.
The bed-rook of WeBtiirn UiBBonri baa a primary dip of about eleven feet to the mile. Id &11 parts of the couatiy the bed-rook hai more or leas dip. Wben water fdla od the nirfaoe boUb it aoaki down to bed-rook. If the bed-rook la poroaa It oontlouea down Indeflnltely, and la brought to Um aartkoe by eapillarr attoae- tlon, and U appropriated by the roote aa It la needed to anataln plaat^Ufe. Bntlf the bed-ro^k ta aoapatone, ehale, or some ImperriooB material, tbe water, on reaching It, commences to ran down bill In the direction of the greateat dip— Juat aa water runa down the eldea of a roof, it ia plain that thia mechanical condition will aoon drain the toils above of moleture. The only known remedy Is a pit ander each tree of Bufflolentalze to store enough water to laat thronsb the dry aeaaon. Where there Is a slnas or trough in the bed-rock, natnre will ttoro the neoessarf water for the soils above. Where the bed-rock la Impervloua to water, the aeleotlon of a Bite for an orchard aboald bo determined by a geological anrvey. Such a snr- vey would, bylevellngs and meaanrementa, determine tbe location and extent of snch troughs fn the bed-roclc. A. location far down on a slope in the bed-rock might ■erve as well, or even better, than a trough.
Many of ns know by experlenee that aometimesour young treea do splendidly above snoh an Impervfons be'd-rook as mnoh of the West afforda, but tbe trees get about a certain age and then begin to show signs of a loss of vigor. This Is the date at which their tap-roots reach an Impervious rock or subsoil. After this, their life Is uncertain. When the t»ed-rook is porous, tbe trees continue to grow till they almoat rival the trees of the forest in size and splendor.
For want of time and space, fnrtbei speclficatlun of the different species of ftult must be abandoned tor the present, and all of our temperate zone fruits con- sidered collectively.
To show that certain fruits are beat adapted to paitlcular geological forma- tiona cornea within the province of horticultural geology, but to give the reasons for these adaptations would lead to a discussion of some of the aubjects Included in botany, chemistry, entomology and ornithology ; bence the aaaerllon that these branches are necessary to the horticulturist. In this Instance, however, it la only necessary to refer to those Important subjects Incidentally to correlate them with tbe one under consideration.
The cultivated fruits follow the same laws of growth and organic development tbat all plants do, bnt being more tender than Indigenous plants, the laws of growth will admit of fewer violations.
When woody fibre Is burned, the resldne or ash contains small quantities of earthy or inorganic substances that vary, but It usually oonsists of potassium, silica— a foim of grit or quartz—lime, magnesia. Iron, etc. This aeh Is only a smallportlonof tbe bulk or weight of the plant. F^om ninety to nlnety-slx per cent of wood consiats of cellulose or hard cellular tissue. It Is composed of car- bon, hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen and oxygen are derived from water and are principally aupplied through the roots in the form of sap. The carbon Is taken In from tbe air, mainly through the leaves. In the form of carbonic add gaa. Tits Ilmeatonea of the geological periods fkvorable to tbe arple'are easily decomposed, and con^'eqnently give up their carbonic add gaa readily and In about tbe proper proportions todevelop the highest plant forma. It Is true that rich alluvial solU and those that contain the most decomposed organic matter stimulate and promote plant growth, but there la proportionately leaa fruit and it Is of an Inferior quality. i)Dch soils over-stimulate and bring on dlseasea of the aap, some of wblch are known as " blight," ■' sour sap," etc.
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WINTBB HBBIUfG AT (JLIHTON. 231
One or the reasons wh^ undf BOils are Bometlmes objeotionable to the hortt- cultorlBt Is becftnie inseata that Injure fruit thrive best on or Id a warm, sandy soil, eapeelally a dry one. This obiervRtlon lead* or Into the domatn of eoto- mology. Certain Ineecta brln^ certain blrdB that prey OD them. ThU brings the dlBcnasIon wtthlo the province of ornithology. To correl&te, certain geologtoal (rock) fbrmatlonB are favorable to certain ftnlt plants; these plants conform In their chemical constituents, and other qualities, to the rooks on which they grow ; certain iniectB prey upon these f)rDlt.planta, and certain birds, and other Insects, prey upon these Injurlons lagecte; thus does all organic life— whether aalmal or vegetable— depend on the geological formations that give character to the soil for their sustenance, characteristloB and distribution.
The united thioknesseB of the rocks which I have assigned to the apple zone would not exceed 3,000 feet. The united thicknesses of all the strailfled rocks trota the highest and youngest down to granite— the lowest and oldest, when considered geoli^calty-- would be at least flfteen tiroes that number of feet. It will be seen from this that the geological range of the perfect apple la somewhat limited,
'llie subject of this paper suggested Itself to me a few days ago. It le entirely too vast to be treated Ihorongbly without a lengthy preparation. The object of this short paper Is to show ths possibilities of the subject, and ask you to observe for yourselves. Fruit statistics are so meagre and data so hard to obtain, that nothing more than a general theory can now be formulated. Observation verifies the theory as Atr as tested. It Is possible that in localizing, I have fallen into error, but IbaveaUoonfldenceln the theory that the great law of adaptation works along the line of geological formations.
To aettie the question of tbe local application of this theory, it is necessary to collect fruit statistics for, say three to flve years. These statistics ahonld be ob- talned from the portions of the country where the beet of each kind of fruit is sup- poaed to grow, and should take in a wide geographical range. The statistics ahonld be arranged by count lea, with difierences noted Insameoounty, if any were observed, and such data would aflbrd a connected history of the fruit Industry of the localities under coo si deration. At the end of tbe three or five years, these resolta could be correlated with the geological formations of the several counties. The geological fonnstioDs could be ascertained from the reports of the various state surveys.
The geologist must of necessity " ran every subject Into tbe ground." It Is In thellne of his bnalnesB to do so. Having brought hortl on I tn re down from poetic heights to the rocks, to the " dost of earth," Into the ground, I leave It.
A recitation was beautifully rendered by MisB Audrey Knowles, of Clinton academy.
WINTBB WOBK POE THE FBUIT-GBOWEB. J. A. D0REB3, WUTOrr, MO. "OnrrnilU are In the oellaT'i bin, Whit wealth the mow* aad graauie* bold." After the season's fruit-crop has been stored away and cared for, the thought of tbe orchardlst will I>e for hU trees, the best manner for their winter protection, or the best treatment to put them In a condition for a fruitful crop the coming sea- son . The first step would be to plow the ground before It freeies ; this may not be Decessay If the orchard was In crops that had thorough cultivation during sum- mer, a thorough harrowing and raking together of all grass, weeds , stubble and decayed branches, and bnrnlng them will be of the greatest advantage, for in these
832 STATE HOBTICULTUBAI. 800ISTY.
we bkTo th« fonadatloo of ^latold lUa the fruit-grower la subject to; In them we hKv« a grent harbor tor all Ineects.
Treea In orchards, thus treated, will be free ttoai tbe ravages of mice, and we have noticed tbat rabbits will do no or very little damage to young oicharda or narserlea where perfect cleanllnees was tbe rule, and all barboring pUcea bad been destroyed.
The apple cnreallo or gouger hibernate or batch uoder and in every crevice of wood and bark; hence the complaint of knotty peara and apples ; and It will be ob- served that trees nearest fences, hedge rows or woodlands will be most s^'octed. Thla Is an important task, and can so well be done tbrongboat tbe winter months.
Late fall Is also a good time for planting. Our wiotera are often CO open that we can do this at any time, wherever trees can be had near tbat there wonld be no Iters of being overtaken by a freeze.
Borora, too, can be looked after. Leaning trees, of moderate size, can be straightened by digging around them, cuUtng a few of the straining roots, filling In again, finnlDg the ground, banking up somewhat to make the brace stronger.
In ezamlniog our treea we will find broken limbs. Injured places in the bark, aa well aa much looae bark on the trankaof the older trees ; these are tnfeeCed with aphis and tbe latvte of many other Injurioae insects. Destroy everything of tbe sort, and next ftnltlngaeason will sboK tbe results.
PruDiog Is another work tbat ought to be attended to—
The orchardlst will find it of the greatest advantage to attend to as much of this as possible. As a rule, spring and the growing aeaaon are considered the best time for trimming, but the press of other work at those seasons often result In total neglect, or a partial attention. So It will be well to have done with this, to be ready for other work.
Annual pruning ought to be done. The beada of troea ehould be well formed, opened in the center, letting In the aanllgbt and sir. Suokera will grow, small branches thicken up the center, growing to right and left, crossing and robbing thoae we wish to remain ; ont them out with a close, smooth cut .
To enumerate all that can be done, and should be, we fear would make thU paper to long.
Tbe fruit-grower has Indoor work when the days are too cold ; his frolt needs looking aCter, sorting over, changing about, boxes, barrels and bins cleaned and mended, cellars fumigated, to dHve out fungus arising from decaying fruit; graft bis own trees from which to replant his orchards— a much better plan than to de- pend on others, eapecially the tricky tree agent.
A thoughtful review ofblspsBt successor failure wlllbetbe guide for his work in the future ; plans are made now, and means to carry them out may become tbe studies of his long winter evenigs.
Work Is always plenty for the busy ones. Now his attention may Iw turned to Intellect work; In busy times, when employed in oaring for his ftnita, bis favor- ite books must be neglected ; now the time has come, and reading and studies may be resumed.
Thua we see that there Is work for the fruit-grower in winter — work of the most pleasant, of the most proQtable and elevating kind.
Thpn followed a dnet by Pro£ Hall and Mrs. Taylor Bernard; enjoyed by all.
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VINTBB MBBTINa AT OLINTON. 233
WEDNESDAY— 9 A. M.
The Society was opened with prayer by Rev. Mr. Armatrong.
REPORTS PROM COUNTY SOCIETIES. At th« ro]l-ca]I flfteea coauty societies answered. Some are doing excellent work, while others are sleeping, bnt the uamber of workers hero prophesy a good session.
OBOHAEDma IW MOETH MI8S0UBI. READ BX CHAS. rxTimtSOS, URKSVILLE.
Id Att«mptlng to uy something on the aabjcet ualgned me. It ts quite grttl- fying to not «atei aoy oompelltlon or rivalrjr with otber aectlona of the Slate, but ibnply to Bhow that oar (ectioo enjo^a a astlafaotory share at the pbenomenal oom- blnatloti of a Kood crop and uDoommoulr good prlcea. Id Buob a fonunate combl- nation eacb aeotion is liable to conclnde tbat it enjoys speolai sdYaotages over any ottaers, or has adopMd the best metboda to seoure them, and thus forget to Improre ^ring and reprehenalbte ■taortconlDgs tbat may pre van t forever an j recnrrence of aooh a profitable crop. When we observe the general oondltton of onr oroliards in any part of the State that I bare Tlaited, and the methods generally pnrsued, we And grave reaeone to apprehend tbat sooh a combination ma^ never ooiiar again in our llfe-tlmo, and very poestbiy not in that of onr children, and in a few years we may forget all this proaperltr, or think of It as the good o)d times, and bear oroaklDge abont short-lived trees, unpropltlons climate and uncongenial soil; wbereaa, If we read the lesson that onr trees plainly present before onr eyes oor- rectly, we can have every reason to hope for almoet regnlar recarrenee of profitable crops. If not as phenomenal as this.
I had Intended to secure a fairly correct estimate of the apple crop in our eonnty, bat failed to get returns from some shipping points, and at others It was imptactloable to find how many came from adjoining counties Into this, or how many weot bvm onr county to stations In next counties ; hence, I can only make a roBgh estimate, and will oudeavor to avoid eisggeration, so often liable to occur In SQoh eftlmatee. By this method I would place the crop of Adair county at from 100,000 to I IG.OOO bashela, and the net Income to our farmers at $34,000 to 137,000.
I am well aware that this will not average with estimates from many otber eouDties, bat It Is certainty a good refutation of the Idea sometimes entertained, even at home, tbat we are just a little too near tbe border of tbe best apple belt. The faot U only thnt we bave scarcely a single oommerolal orchard worth tbe name, and that every one Is just left to grow like Topsy. In a large proportion of them yon can look under the branches down tbe row and not see a single green leaf In snmmer time, and when you look at the tops, you see only a scattering of older apples, and that in orchards less than twenty-Ave years old, tbat passed for models when youDg. They have never had a knife or pmning saw about them, or a culti- vating tool alnce they commenced a preoocious fruiting, but have been pastnred with calves and pigs, If not larger animals.
I have quit arguing this subject with common farmers, because I am thoroughly flfltlslled tbat they do not want to, and therefore never will, learn to take half ears of trees, and tbat tbe bnlk of fruits will sooner or later be grown by spedallets.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_'V_)'
,gle
234 8TiTE HOBTIOULTUBIX HOCIBrY.
For their benefit I keep ■ natoh of two orch&rde in my Immediate vicinity— both verf nearly the Bame size (about thirty acrea), planted the same year from the same block of nursery trees, but one kept partly in sod and partly onltlvated liap-hazard In the oommon way, and the other nndei contlnnous, clean callivation; one sbont fonr^flfths Ben Davis, the other sometbleg over one-fifth, and both thirteen jeart old. The net Income from each the past season was an one to six. This may look like an exaggerated statement, bat It Is not. The dtflereooe may be partly dne to the disparity of Ben Davie trees, but all are now old enoagh for any variety to bear, especially In sod. If there Is any nnfitlrness In the comparison. It Is In favor of the sod-orchard, becanse the Ben Davis were partly cnltlvated of late years. Hence, on meaanrlng the circnmference of twenty average Ben Davis In each orchard last week, 1 found less diflbrexoe In size than I had expected. Nevertheless, on redac- ing the measurement to the oroas-sectlon, I find the cvlttvsted trees nearly thirty- three per cent the largest, which sbowi only the dIB'erence between partial and clean enlttvatioo, and not the differenoe between cnltlvatlon and no cnltivatlon. And I am well satisfied that the bearing surface of the eoltlvated orchard (the top of the trees) Is fnlly In the same proportion, although they were trimmed ap two to three feet higher some two or three years afler planting, which mnst have stanted thetr growth to some ext«nt.
Another good-sized orchard In the same vicinity 'oonBlsts tn part of a good assortment of varieties, and In part trees apparently over thirty to forty years old, of unrecognized varieties.
The entire crop sold this year for Just the same per hundred pounds as that of the cultivated orchard sold for per forty-eight ponnds, to the same buyer and for the same purpose — evaporating, 1 accept this as tangible, substantial evidence that onltlvating the orchard pays, notwithstanding some old farmers have told me that they broke up the sod in part of their orchards last spring, and they show no per> oelvable dWerence from those uDdtsturbed.
DISCUSSION.
Sam. Miller — Tbat ia an excellent article. It comes np to my doc< trine exactly.
Mr. Patt«rson — Tbe sod orchard lias a number of varieties.
Mr. Gano — Was there any marked difference in the merchantable qoality of the apples in the sod orchard and the valtiTated orchard 1
Mr. Patterson — I wilt call upon Mr. Tascott to answer.
Mr. Tascott — The difference was, those that grew in the sod were worth twenty cents a bnshel less than the others. We made a differ- ence according to the quality of the apples. Those in the sod were wormy and knotty.
Mr. Carpenter — Was one orchard sprayed J
Mr. Patterson — ISo ; neither was sprayed.
Mr. Mniray — I would like to say this ; There are a good many ways to cnltivate an orchard. To deeply break np a sod in an orchard that has gone for years withont caltivation maycanse great injury by cutting the roots near the snr&ce. I think that shallow caltivation is best. The surface of the soil should be reduced to the finest possible eon-
WINTEB HBETINQ AT OI.tNTOH. 235
ditiOD. I nee the turning plow once in five yeara. In other years ve cnltivate with a fine, sharp steel harrow and a com eattivfttor. This jtax we caltivated three times with a corn cnltivator and three times with a harrow. The orchard is eighteen years old. The orop was fiDe. It was sprayed twice, bat sfaoald have been sprayed three times. I think that np to the present time spraying has been almost entirely «zperiment&l. It is not rednoed to certainty. I nsed this year a pre- paration sent ont by q I^ew York company which I think a great im- proTement This will come Qp again nnder the head of " Spraying."
. OBOHABDINQ IN WB8T HIBSOUBI.
Tbe inbject kislgned me 1b one of vast lotereat to a ipreat many pprsona at the present time, and tbe busioeoB l« odI.t In its tnfanc}'. The fruit crop of Weatern HiMoarl li an Important one almoRt any season, and this year It has beun espeolally ■o Mt acconnt of fallnie of the on^ In the apple-growing reglona east of as. Bat how vastly more Important will It he when, Instead of oar orchards of fifty to a hnndred trees, with twenty-Ave to seventy-flTe per cent of them worthless on sooonnt of bad selection of Tsrietles, we have large commercial orchards of 40, 60 and 160 acres, all planted to choice, productive market varieties; and these large orchards, not as now, a rare sight, bnt a common thing, and dotted all over onr hills and prairies— then wilt Western Hlasonrl fill the high place In fruit prodnctlon which she Is destined to oconpy at no very distant day. The experimental work taas been done, and while a great many fallares have been made, still orcharding In Western Miasourl Is a grand sacoes). And what has caused the failures t Simply the same thlnga which would have caused failure In any other hnalness : Lack of knowledge on the part of the planters and cultivators of tbe orchard. One lacked knowledge of the proper varieties to plant, and planted largely of HoAfee'a None- ■aoh; another planted ninety-nine per cent Jannett, and then planted the other Jannett. Nearly all of ns planted Yellow Belle, Rambo, NooBuob, Lawver and a boat of others that have proved anprofitable to the irrower commercially, while a great many of them find a proper and .naefai place In the hmlly orchard ; bnt I have yet the first orchard to see where a proper selection of varieties has been made, and good trees planted on snltable soli, and then properly onltlvatea and «ared for, that they did not prove profitable to the owner. Now, what are the ele- ments of sncoesB In orcharding t The first thing to be considered Is tbe site, and while I should prefer a northern exposure, I do not regard It as at all eBsentlal ; neither do I regard the character of tbe sarfoce soil of as mucb Importance as the enlMoIl. Any soil which has an open, porous subsoil. In which the roots ran pene- trate deeply and freely, and not be compelled to stand In stagnant water In a wet time, and be dried up In a dry season, can be made a good one fbr the orchard, though a soil sufficiently sandy to dry quickly and naturally, rich enough to give a good growth of wood, Is desirable. A close, hard-pan subsoil near the Burftce Is tbe most undesirable of all, and I would not advise the planting of trees for profit on snob a soil ; bnt If nothing better is to be had, a family orchard may be grown on such a soil by extra care.
After the site Is selected, the variety or varieties to plant Is the question. Some say plant Ben Davis first, last and all the time, bnt we cannot agree with them. While the writer Is a firm ftiendof the Ben Davis, he does not believe In the ons-varlety theory any more than In the other extreme of too many varieties, nor
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23o STATE HORTICT)I.TTTEAL SOCIETY.
would I exclude the aummer aod bll apples from ttaeltBt. Were I planting a com- merotsl orchard In Western Ulseourt, I should plant Lowell, Maiden Blasb, Grimes' Qolden, Jonatban, Ben Davis and Willow Twig, and no more, though there are others that In some sltuatioDS are profltable, and which Bhouljl not be neglected In the family orchard. Among these will be fouad Huntaman, which In aome altna- tlons Is fine, while In others It Is worthless. Hlnkler la generallr profitable, and may come to the front as a commercial apple. Hissouil Pippin In some locations, and while the tree Is young, Id flnebut not Id every respect desirable. White Winter Pippin IB another that docB well In Bome places, but ^IIb In others, t^ome of the newer favorites may yet anpersede the old. but their claim to public favor is yet to beeBtabllahed.
Next in order comes the selection of the trees. Get them of a good nursery, the nearer bome the better. Plant them properly. Protect them from rabbits, mice and Btoek. Give the m good, fair cultivation, and keep on at It. Don'tqult after the nrat few years. Prune moderately. Fertilize the sot! if It needs it, and you win reap your reward In abnndant harveata of doe fruit. Spraying the trees with arsenical polBonB may be neceB^iry to keep down Insect peetf, but can be done cheaply and U said to be effective. Oar own experiments have not been sufficient to determine Its utility; except as to leaf-eating Insects, there can benodoubt aliout the matter with them. There is one point the fruit-grower muBl keep In mind : constant care and nnremttting attention is the price of fine fruit. What may reasonably bo expected from an acre of bearing orchard F 1b asked by one. This Is a question hard to answer, but brings to my mind one small orchard of less than five acres of Ben DavU, Willow Twig, WInesap, Grimes' Golden and Dominie, planted twelve yearB ago. We bought the shipping apples and received them In tbe plies In tbe orchard as they were picked from the tree, and paid the owner one thousand and elghtj-nlne dollars for the shipping apples. What he got tqr the culls 1 do not know, but probably enough to pay alibis expenses. Remove the orchard, and the farm Is not worth to-Hlay what we paid him for the fruit this year. Of course this Is a long way above what may be expected as an average; but divide It by four, and an orchard of forty acres will pay a net revenue of over two tbouaand dollars, or more than twice the average vsloe of the land. Now, J do not pretend to say that all orchards pay this kind or profita, but I do say that where the varieties named (and even others not so generally productive) have been planted on anliable soil, given good care and cultivation, properly pruned and fertilized, they have proved nnlversally profltable. It Ib the uncared-for orchards and those planted with nnproHtable varieties that bring orcharding intodisrepute. The writer knows how It Is himself. I planted without knowlydge, and oh, the dead-heads, tbey have been a source of weariness and vexation, anti 1 am now transferring a great many of them to the wood-pile and brush-heap, and will replace them with the varieties named. Had I done so seveml yearn ago, it would bare saved me vexation and loss. In conolnsion, will say that I have conllned my paper to the apple, and will leave the other orchard A-uits to other papers and more able writers. And If anything I have written shall prove an aid to the fruit-growers of Ulssourl, [ am more than repaid for writing It.
DISCUSSION. L. A.. Goodman — Yon need to stady tbe reqnirementa of yoar market, ss well as yonr soil and climate. This was called to my atten- tioD by tbe orchardists of Soathern DHqoIb. They make money oat of
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TTINTHB MEBTING AT CLIMTOK. 237
tb« Winesap gathered early and elilpped nortb before other apples are in tbe market.
Mr. MniTsy — I consider that one of the beet papers we have heard. Tbe Jooatban, by picking early, September 15, can be kept through the winter. Samples sent to Montana came back the next May in per- fect condition. Let ns profit be experience. The yottng planter need not make the mistakes we older planters made. The joong can learn &om the older. They shonld plant the standard kinds, such as Ben Davis, Jonathan, etc.
Mr. Faith^If 1 understood Mr. Speer, he said that trees woald not grow upon low gronnd. There were no more perfect apples in Yemon coanty than npon ten acres of low ground in my orchard. I planted npon little monndi.
Mr. Armstrong — There was no scientific nonsense abont Mr. Spoor's paper. I wonld like to ask if trees can be profitably planted in an old orchard 1
Mr. H. B. Francis — I have planted new trees in an old orchard ; seven trees in one place in eight years.
Mr. Speer — I should prefer new soil by all means. I consider it only a make-shift to replant an old orchard.
Mr. Qoodman — I have had some experience in that line. I should remove the old stnmp and the soil in the fall, fill np with manure and soil from another place, and plant in tbe spring.
Sam. Miller — 1 have planted new trees right where the old trees stood, by the side of the old stump, with success. The old trees had not died ; they were cat down. When an old tree dies it has exhausted the soil.
J. 6. Kinder — If I bad thrifty trees of unprofitable kinds I would top-graft them. I call for experience in top-grafting.
Sam. Miller — 1 graft about one-half of the tree one year and the other part the next year. I pinch the spronts daring the summer, and don't remove them entirely.
Mr. Murray — In a small orchard top-grafting will do, but for com- mercial purposes it is time lost. It is too expensive. It is seldom fnlly snccessfol.
J. N. Menifee— My experience is that blight almost invariably mine top-grafted trees.
L. T. Kirk — I don't know whether new members can talk here or not, but I will say that I never knew top-grafted trees to live very long. The better way is to dig it np.
Mr. Hopkins — A top-grafted tree would be as useful as a cork leg to a healthy man.
238 STATE HORTIOTTLTtlBAI. BOCIBTT.
Sam. Miller — Some top-grafted trees make as soQDd trees as I ever saw.
A. Ambrose — Ferb&ps moat of those whu ooBdemo top-graftine are Qareerymen, who have new trees for you to plant in the places of the Quprofllable ones.
Ohas. Patterson — I dig a large hole, taking oat as many of the old roots as possible. My replanted trees did well in cultivated groand.
Mr. Dnrand — It does not pay to replant an orchard after the trees are six or seven years old. Plant new orchards on new land.
J. G. Evans — Some of as have no other ground.
Jacob Faith — My observation fnlly agrees with Mr. Darand's.
A. Ambrose — I do not snppose that anyone of large experience wonld advise planting any other than new trees. Top-grafting might be done successfnlly for a family orchard.
Sam. Miller — If yon graft a whole tree as large as a stove-pipe yoo will have a dead tree. Graft only half of the tree and leave some of the snckers at first; remove them gradnally. N'ever graft branches larger than one inch in diameter.
J. C. Erans — If intelligently done on trees not too large, top- grafting will be snccessfnl if the eton and stock are congenial. If not it will be a fiulnre.
G. H. Stark — We find that top-badding is more snccessftil than top-grafting for large trees.
OBOHARD LOCATION.
J. F. Stewart — I am not qoalifled to write a paper npon this sub- ject, having had only a little experience in planting trees. I advise to select dry locations, sloping to the east or northeast, bat I have seen good orchards npon almost all slopes.
G. M. Stark — As to late frosts and orchard locations, the main point is to watch oat for air dr^nage. The cold air or frost drains off in the same way that water does. Lowlands or valleys are all right, if there be yet lower valleys affording anobstraoted drainage for the cold air. However, three or fonr days of cold, cloudy weather, with driz- zling rains and cold northeast winds dhring blossoming season, or even antil the frnit be as large as backshot, wilt be as fatal as a killing frost. The small apples tarn yellow and drop off; hence, orchards protected on the northeast have often borue when others have failed.
.y Google
WINTER MEETING AT CLINION. 239
0BCBABD8 FOB LOW LANDS. C. T. UALLIKCKRODT.
[Paper will be printed Id uiother part of the report.]
L. A. Goodman — I gave these sabjects to britie oat the point that it is not always best to avoid low lands. We need more information upon this BQbject. What varieties do best npon low groond, what npon high T
Mr. Scott — Along the MisBoori river, on tbe loess formation, whether high or low, fruit can be planted saocessfnll;. The river pro- tects ftom frost. I think a northeast slope is better ; the soathwest is too hot and dry. ^Wind-breaks sboold be npon the Bonth and west, not on tbe east. Here high grounds are in every way better. Some- times peaches ean be grown npon our high prairie when yon cannot nuse one npon low points.
N. F. Murray — In Northwest MisBonri oar experience is abont this : It was my conviction that the sandy lands of the Missoori river wonid grow apple orchards. In a dry seaaon the best places are the MlssoDTi river bottoms. Qnmbo soil will not do unless it is anderlald with sand. If yoa have the tree topped as it ought to be, it donH make any difference where the wind oomes from or how long it blows. If your land slopes sonth, make a low top and the snn will not bam yoar tree. As to varieties, the Jonathan will ripen earlier upon south slopes. If you plant upon wet land, rtuBe a monnd or nnderdrain yonr land; you can't grow orchards upon wet land ; it would be like a man with his feet in cold water. The top of a hill is sometimes flat and wet, and the worst of places, lowlands are not always wet, uplands are not always dry.
I advise to plant trees twenty-five feet apart. I have made more money at twenty-five feet than at thirty. Some want their trees forty feet apart, so they can cultivate between them. I prefer to have my orchard in one place and my cultivating land in another. I want to get the most I can from my orchard with the least labor. In general, where you ean grow a good crop of com you can grow good apples. I donH think there is a great difference in a series of years between the top and the sides of a hill.
Mr. Maxwell — I have an orchard planted fifteen years, two miles firom the Missonri river. Some of it slopes east, some northeast, Winesap on tbe east and the northeast, on the high land, have borne but little. In the lower part, where they cross the hollow, I have had crop after crop, making twenty dollars there to one on top of the ridge.
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Sle
240 STATE HUBTICULTtJBAL SOOIETT.
Willow Twigs bare done well on Ihe lower groand. On the west slope I have one haodred Ben Davis. They hav^ done better than on top of the ridge. I woald prefer a northern slope to any other if I had a choice.
Mr. Walters — I don't think there is any question that the loess is the tnie soil for an orchard. We have no loess in this part of the State. The loess was deposited soon after the glacial period. The Missonri river was practically the sonthem limit of the ice. The cave limestone is the land for the fVnit-grower in Southwest Missonri. The ice stood many hundred feet above the present snrface of the soil, and, moving to the south, it scratched the blnEFs and left a large deposit. Latitude 40" is the sontbern limit of the ice in Eansss and 39° in Missouri. Farther east it goes even further south. Some call tfce Missouri river bluff formation clay ; bat it is not clay. It forms the basis of a BOfl especially favorable to tree-growing. It is porous and has the proper chemical elements in the right proportion.
My observation in regard to temperatnre is that large bodies of water modify the effects of cold winds that blow over Ifaem. The effects of frost are not so marked in the vicinity of such bodies of water.
C. W. Murtfeldt — As a proof of the position the gentleman has taken, I instance the snccess of the Alton Illinois orchards, where the Missonri and the Mississippi rivers come together. On the east side of Lake Michigan they can produce peaches almost every year so far as the frost is concerned ; on the west side not at all, not even the trees.
TABIBTIBB OP APPLBB.
HcoOi HoNTGOumRY Co., Ho., Deo. 1, 1690. 7b Iht Prttidmtl and m^mberi of ihe MUaouri Stai« HortieuUural SoeUty :
Altboagh the froU men of our Sut« In general beve made a good thing out of their applea this leuoo, I am iwrry to have to state tbat such waa not the ease In tMe county (Hontgomerf ) . However, what few apples that were raised bronght a goodprl«e. We bad a number ot severe froita last spring, wbicb bad klUed a great deal of the frnlt. Of what was left, a large porttoo waa made nnealable on Bcoount of the coddling moth, as well ae the foDgl ftuitUiduttn dendritieum, generally known ai scab. Tbe continued oold, molat weather during spring waa vexj favor- able for the germination of the spores of tbe above-named fungi. 1 have noticed apples not larger than a pea to be covered with tbe small dots wblch mark tbe first appearance of tbe fongua, which aoou spread to such an extent as to check the growth of tbe fnilt. Missouri Pippin, Lawver, Bed June, Sweet June aod a few otbers never ripened any specimens that were even fit for cider. I Intend to grub out all tbe treea I have of tbe above sorts or graft them over to aomething better.
AsIwasblUedon tbe program for a paper on varieties, I will give my experi- ence with a few ports I have been fruiting. A number of new and rare varieties, of which [ have only a tree or two, and In moat cases not more than a few top grafts,
WINTBB HBETINQ AT OLINTON. 241
w«re 80 Injared by tbe late froite lut spring thkt I oonld not farm ftnything of t correct opinion on remaining Bpeolmeoi. The flHt tpples th&t got ripe In my orchsrd were Early Harvest; fralt poor, knotty, only half growa and fall of aeab (rhlclilB moreorleia the oase with them every year); treea ahort-llved. The next were aboat one week Uter. Yellow Transp. , from top grafts npoa Early Harvest ; fmlt smooth, perfect and free of Boab. This last variety last year ripened nearly a week before Early Harvest, bat the latter were full tcrona. A. few top grafts of the Hist, Bet npon Lawver, bad ripened tbelr fralt aeversl daya ahead of Yellow Traesp. The frnlt was of fair size aad form, bat M the speolmeos had lain apoa the grouDd, and were partly eaten by chlokeni, I oonld not form mach of an oplnioo as to Its value. This sort must not be oonfoaoded with EIcjC. This la a later ap- ple, which originated with B. S. Blest or Lsnoaster, Fa., while the one I have orig- inated with C. RIst of near Table Roek, Neb., where the late S. Barnard first propagated It, bnt to what extent I do not know.
Red June was the next to come In ; a full crop of deformed, scabby prodno- tlons, wblcb the bogs wonld not eat. Thia variety ts absolntely worthless here, unlets It is for a breeding place fi>r scab. Sweet Jane was hot little better, while B. Astrachan, Oldenberg and Benoni bore fine and perfect frnlt. The trees seem to be hardy and fine growers, and I think are among the best to plant here for early fruit. All 8 a mmer is also very good, but does not come ap with the last named. Maiden's Blush ; this I find to be bat little afl'ected by aottb, and is certainly one of the best and most profitable early fall apples. CbenaDgo Is a very fine apple, but a tree or two ia enongh In any orchard. Lacy Pew, a very fine apple for ■evaporating; very prodnotive, bat the traes are short-lived. Pa. Redstreak and Ramtw I find very fine for bnme use. The former, however, Ib quite subject to «cab, while the trees of the latter do not seem to be long-lived. Grimes I find to be a tine apple that sells welt, free of scab, but not productive enough. N. Spy I find to I>e worthless with me. Twentyonnce, Gloria Uundl and Lady apple, 1 would only plant a tree of each for exhibition purposes, not otherwise. White Pippin rota on the tree ; not desirable. Yellow Bell, unprodnottve. Smiley, very fine ; one of the best for home use and local market ; a fine upright grower, but a little subject to scab. Holland Pippin, tolerable. Stark [ find to be a fine large apple, free of scab; It sells well; the trees are fine stocky growers, with very large leaves. Prior's Red, Vandevere and Jeuets I find to be very good winter apples for home nee. They all seem to do welt here ; of no special value for market. Withe: of this I only have one tree, and am very favorably Impressed with the trait ; fine, large, and nndonbtedly a good keeper. The trees are spreading, bloom late and have rather peculiar fbllage. Baldwin is a fine fall apple here; very pro- ductive and free from scab ; one of the best. Roman Beanty, unprodnctive ; trees short-lived ; 1 expect to grub out every tree I got of them ; 1 had planted it quite extensively for market. Ho. Pippin and Lawver still worse ; of no value what- ever, except as a breeding place for scab. Huntsman la Indeed a fine apple; sells well, but ii nothing to compare with B. Davis for market; snbleotto scab toagreat extent. Clayton, I have only fruited a few speoimens ; they were fine and free of scab; tree a rather upright grower; It seems to do well here, bat must test it further before forming an opinion.
Ben Davis— Tbis apple will be very largely planted here. Quite a number of onr members are setting out nothing else. There will also be a great deal of top- grafting done this spring by our members, aad most of the worthless scab-breeders will be transformed to B. Davis. I do not think that any other variety will bring
-16
igle
342 STATE HOBTICTTLTUBAL 80CIBTT.
In as mnch tnooer to the grower as thla will Jonathan, I tblnb. oomee next. Wil- low Twig, Wloeiap and Smith's Cider are also good, bat neither of theui will come npto the Ben. Newton ^ppln la also flne and geI>B welt ; howerer. It will never be as profltfible as some of the others. Those are about sll the TarietieB tbat 1 have fruited so fiir, but tblnk that I can report on about Qfty more sorts by another year. I expect that some of our fruit-growers will think tbat I had no eeniie In setting out such a mixed lot of apples. I admit that I did not have much ; however, I had n desire to fiod ont which would do the best on our soil, and for tbat purpose have set out a plot of Just a tree or two of a variety— Id some oases only a few to grafts. On . one tree alone I have over thirty different varieties grafted, all numbered and recorded. In the main part of my orohsrd (about 1,000 trees) [ have aotblng but Ben Davto and Jonathan, with a f«w Willow Twig. A word more about that appU Kob. I flud It to be a very serloas drawback In apple-cuUnre. Happily, oar lead- ing market apples are not very subject to It, unless. Indeed, the weatber Is very bvorable lOr the formation of the spores. A few years ago I sprayed a few treea tocheok the fungi, under tbe Instruction of Prof. Qallowav. However, the formula used happened to he too strong; but so many experiments have been carried oa slnoe that I have no doubt but what the formula of tbe cbemlcale used has been properly modlQed. I therefore think tbat by spraying, the fungus oould be held in obeok. However, as tbe remedies have to be of a preventive and not of a enratlTe nature, much will always depend upon having the spraying done at tbe proper time. for that reaiOD I thick that, unless a man Is a close observer, wbo will iearn by ex- perience as be goes, the chances for suooess will be small. But why do we plant snob varieties, that are subject to the disease, at all? Why not discard them out of our orchards ? If we discard those scsb-breedlng varieties, there will cer- tainly be leSB spores left in the orchard to reproduce the scab the spring following.
SPEATIMO OF PEUITH.
PBOP. JOHN W. CLIBK, COLUMBIA.
As the cultivation of trees, fruits and flowers beuomes more general In this- and other States, tbe necessity of a more thorough knowledge of tbe nature, habits, diseases and Insect enemies of each tree, flower and fnill becomes more apparent, and there Is not a suocessftl bortlcalturlst In the country wbo does not admit tbat the time Is past when trees, flowers and fruits can be left to care for themselves, and give profitable rBtnrns .
The ravages of Insects (as a country becomes more thickly settled, and the native growth of vegetation gives place to cultivated crops) becmne more marked and Injurious, for, deprived of their accnstomed food, they seek other plants on which to subsist, aod In many cases multiply more rapidly on tbese new plants than on their original food ; so in a short time an Insect scarcely noticed becomes a scourge to tbe land. The Colorado potato beetle {Doryphora 10-lineata) is a marked example of such an insect.
Insects from other sections and lands have been imported and added to those already preying on our crops, until their numbers have Increased to such an extent that we may almost feel content If anything is left. Every tree, flower and fruit baa its Insect enemies. Saunders In his "Insects injurious to fruits" gives eighty- two different insects that prey on tbe apple. But tbe Insect pest is not the onl^ drawback In the. way of successful troXt culture ; In addition to It comes the long line of diseases, such as rusts, smuts, blights and mildews, which have caused a lose of millions of dollars annually In this and other States. It has only been a
WINTBB MBBTING AT OLINTON. 243
■hort time since tbe re^l URture of manf of our moat destructive plant dtoeases hftTe been ODderstood, aod even dov we have ■ very limited knowledge of many of tbe diaeuea affeotlng our fruits, and before wbich we are alnoet powerless in onr elTorte to stop their nvages.
Within the last few yeirs greater sdrancenient has bees made inlQndlog out the nature and cause of oiany plant diseases and how to treat them than has I>een made before— due to tbe b; atemattc manner la which the investlgatloDS are now carried on.
The Spraying of treet and plants for the (le^tmctlon of insects Is of recent date. Paris green was first reoomaieDded In tbe report of tbe Departmentof Agri- culture In 1S71, for tbe Colorado potato beetle. In 1872 It was flrst suggested for tbe codling moth. b:r Dr. Le Baron, of Illinois. In 1679 a Mr. Woodward of Weston* N. Y., In a paper stated "that early In the season he sprayed apple trees with Paris green to destroy tbe canker worm, and found that the fruit grown on these trees was les« Injured by the codling moth than on trees not sprayed." Since that date experiments with arsenical solutions have been carried on In different parts of tbe country, and by different Individuals, nntli their use is acknowledged to be the etaeapest and most effective remedy for the conker worm, oodllng moth and tent caterpillar. Tbe proper time to spray for tbe canker worm and tent caterpillar la when tbe effect of their ravages is first discovered, wblob sbonld be before any harm Is done to the tree. But with the codling moth It la different : the Injury Is not seen st once. The moth Isys its eggs In the blossom or blossom end of tbe ftult. The blossom and tia\t while small stand ereot on the stem, with the caJiz end uppermoet, which forme a kind of cup In which tbe egg Is laid.
In about a week tbe egg batohet. Tbe little worm does not leave the egg at once, bnt reaches out Its head and part of Its body, bltea into the fruit, but does not leave tbe egg until It has eaten far enough into the f^olt to conceal its whole body. Tbia le the time to destroy the worm. As soon ss tbe petals or leaves of the flower tall tbe trees should be sprayed.
They should be sprayed at least three times before tbe ftnlt has become of BufScient weight to bend tbe stem and lose its upright poaitlon. In order that the poison may be held In the cup formed by the calyx. After tbe fruit baa lost Us ni>- rlgbt position, spraying will do little good. There Is a second brood of worma hatched about July ; spraying for these 7ilt not Ik as effective a« It is early In tbe season, and abonld not be practiced with the earlier varieties of apples, and It Is doubtful if tbe results obtained will pay the cost, even with tbe later varieties, If tbe work has been thoroughly done early In the season.
The past season fOar trees were selected in the orchard on tbe Experiment station grounds, two of which were sprayed twice. Hay Sth and May 18th, one with Paris green, one pound to one hundred and sixty gallons of water, the other with London purple In the same proportion. The remaining two trees were not sprayed.
The tree sprayed with Iiondon pnrple gave tbirty-one per cent of wormy ft'ult, that aprayed with Parla green twenty-five per cent, while the average of the two trees not aprayed was sixty-two and one half per cent of wormy fruit, or a dlfier- ence of thirty-two and one-half per cent In favor of London purple, and thirty- eight and one-half per cent in favor of Paris green.
The reaulta obtained by tbla experiment correspond very closely with those obtained at other Experiment stations.
The lemainlng trees In the orchard were sprayed part with Paris green and part with London purple. Where the trees were sprayed with Paris green no
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344 HTATB HORTICULTUBAL 800IBTY.
Injury was done to the foU&ge, but where London parple wai need the foliage waa eo me what tojared .
In each case the proportions were one pound to one hnndred and sixty gallons or water.
Spraying for the onrcuUo (CoTutraeAelua natphar) Is a qnestlon of oonstderable interest Jmt at the present time, and han been discussed extenitrely atnoe the paper of a Mr. G. H. 8mlth was presented to the Hfohtgan Hortlcnltunl society In JS69, recommending the use of Paris green for the plum ourauUo.
A prominent entomologist a year later, referring (o the paper, says : Even if the uniform application of such a polsonons drug as Paris green on large trees were praotleable. It wonld never sacoeed in kllllag one curonllo Id a hundred." In a letter written by Prof Riley. Uarch 8, L888, and published in the last report of the HassachusettB Hortioultiirat society, be says : ''There can be no question as to the advantage of spraying plum trees wUh some one of the arsenical mistares. The adnlt beetle feeds somewhat In the early spring and In mid-eummer, and spraying the trees soon after the blossoms fall will kill a certain proportion of them "
Prof. Cook, of Michigan, says, in a bulletin just issued, " that, after spraying for the plum curcollo for about ten yeara, I never seemed to have met with any snooesB until 1S88, when I thought 1 received signal beneflt from spraying with arsenites."
Enoonraged by this, be commenced a series of thorough experiments to test their value for the plum curcullo, and gives the following as the results of bis ex- periments : " That, while I would not aay that spraying will do no good , I tCel certain that it will never prove satisfactory and reliable."
Dr. C H. Weed, of the Ohio Experiment station, reports that he sprayed on a large scale the past season, and has had remarkably good results . Other and similar examples might be given, but those already presented will show that the value of arsenitee for the pinra onrcnllo Is not fully settled and needs ftirther trial.
The effect of the various arsenical solutions on the fruit and foliage of treea varies with the material used and attendant circumstances. Of the three forms of arsenltes generally used, when applied with equal strength, white arsenic (araenloaa acid] does the greatest Injnry, London purple next and Paris green the least.
The Injury done to the foliage is due to the soluble arsenic contained in the snbstance used. In white araenio the arsenic la readily soluble In water ; London purple partially solnbte, while in Paris green it Is practically insoluble.
The addition of Sour, milk, soap, etc., to make the poison stick to the leaves, seems to increase the amount of the damage done.
When a dashing rain follows the spraying of the trees. It does not Increase the Injury, but where a light drizzling rain follows, the Injury U Increased. In the first instance the arsenic dissolved li washed f^om the foliage at once, bat in the second case it has time to penetrate the tissues of the leaves, causing in maoy oases ooneldersble injury. Heavy dews have a similar effect.
Voung foliage Is not as easily injured as it Is when It ^ts older, on acoount of the waxy coating which It has that prevents the arsenic penetrating the leavea.
The strength of the solution of either Paris green or London pnrple (which Is safe to use) varies with dlfierent fruits.
The cherry is the lesst Injured, after which come the apple, pear, plnui and peach. The last should never be sprayed with either white arsenic or London pur- ple, on account of the soluble arsenic they contain, which Is absorbed by the peach. Although solutions as strong as one pound of Paris green or London purple to fifty gallons of water have been used without Injury to the foliage, yet, from the reeulta
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WINTER XEETINQ AT CLINTON. 245
or ezperimeoti carried od In different aectioDB and bj different individuBls under b variety of clrcnmstanceB, one pound of either Parts green or London purple to two hundred gallons of water (especially London purple) seems to be as strong u tt le ■afe to use ; and Paris green not stronger than one pontid to three hundred or three houdred and tlftj gallons of water Tor the peach. If lime Is added to the solution, the danger of Injurj to the foliage le lessened.
One great reason forthedtfference in the results obtained ftom the use of Paris green or London purple Is probably due to the difference In the composition of the ftTtioleused. Paris green unsdulterated ehoald contain atwot flfty per cent of arsento and London purple at least forty per cent. These two componnds are of- ten much adulterated when pat on the market — In some cases to such an extent that no good Is derived tiom their use, and the person using them concludes that spray- ing for Inseots Is useless.
This State should enaet laws compeltlDg manufacturers to label each and every package offered for sale within Us borders, with the per cent of arsenic guar- anteed; this would not only protect the purabaser, but also Increase Its sale. The danger from the use of Paris green, If safflcient care is taken In handling It. Is not M great as many supposed when Its use was first advocated. Experlmenta have demonstrated that there Is lUUe or no danger of injury to hogs or sheep runalDg In the orchard from the use of either Paris green or liondon purple, and that their re- moval is anneoetsary .
Professor Eedzle of Michigan, says : '* Paris green that has been four months In the soli no longer remains as such, but has passed Into some lesa soluble state, and Is unaffected bj the ordinary solvents of the soil. The power of the soil to hold arsenlouB acid and arsenltes in insoluble form will prevent water from be- coming poisoned, unless the green Is used in excess of any reqolrements as an Ineeotlidde."
Turning now to some of the diseases affecting plants and fruits, we find that many of them are caused by a class of minute parasitic plants called fungi, com- monly designated as rusts, smuts, blights and mildews, whose appearance was once regarded by the superstitious as a direct visltatiOQ or Providence bel»re whioh man was powerless, but are now recognized as the dlreot effects of natural causes capable of investigation and treatment. In speaking of plants, inageaerat way, we understand them as taking their food from the earth and air and preparing It for their own use and that of man and beast, which they do through the action of the green coloring material contained In the leaf called chlorophy, without the pres- ence of which animal and vegetable life upon oar globe would soon cease to exist. The class of plants known as fungi are not supplied with the green coloring matter or chlcrophyl and are, therefore. Incapable of taking their fbod trom the crude ma- terials of the earth and air, but must obtain it from other plants which have this power. These minnteplantsarever; simple In their Btmcture; some are composed of only a single cell, while others are formed by a combination of oells. Fungi do not flower or develop seed, but produce what are called spores, which take tbe place of seeds, and by which they are propagated.
These spores are very small and are carried for long distances in the air, In this way spresding the disease from one locality to another. The spores lodge upon plants and their fruits, where they grow if the conditions under which they are placed are favorable. Some kinds of fungi affect several speci«s of plants, while others live only on one. The plant or fTuit upon which a parasite lives is ealted Us host or feeder, and attacks It by means of its spores or by the germ tubes emitted by tbe a pores. Tbe act of penetration Is accomplished in two ways : tbe
246 STATB HOBTIODLTUEAL SOCIETY.
germ tab« orbraaoh of the mrMltatn either grows Into tbe Interior tbrongli tbe natnral opitDtnga Id tbe leftf (tbe atamata), or tbrongb the Arm membrane eoTerlag tbe leaf or fralt. Heat and moiBtnre are the condltloni necesaary tor tbe germlna- tloa of tbe aporea of fungi the same si foi germination of seeds.
Spores deprived of moisture canaot germinate, wlilob explains why mlldem are less prevalent la dry weather (nnless there are beary dews) than when It Is warm and molBt. Beavy fogs tend to Increase the amonnt of Injorfdone. Fogs, ac- cording to tbe Qow accepted theory, are oaased by motstore collecting aronnd mlnnte particles of dust floatlog in the sir.
Tbe apores of vsrloas forme of fnagl, oontlnoally floating in the sir, come In coDtaol with the particles of dust and are deposited with them ; the molatare sor- Tonndlng these spores oanseg them to germinate and grow if the plaot or ft'olt apon which tbey lodge Is suited to them. The apple scab is caused by a mlnnte parisUIc plant {SuntUutium DendrUieum) whose Spores are carried by the air from tree to tree. The scab works on young twigs, leaves and fruit, and propagates Itself most rapidly daring the moist weather of spring, early manner, and again In autumn. Daring the hot weather of summer tbe damage la usually less, yet at no time la tbe apple free from Its ravages. The greatest loss from the scab occurs when the traW Is attaolced early In the season when in flower or while the fruit Is small, When this ooours tbe fruit generally falls to develop and drops from the trees. Tbe orchards of western New York presented a marked example of suob a case tbe past season. The trees blossomed full, but dropped their fruit before it had at- tained any considerable size, which upon examination was found to be due to the attacks of the scab. When the fruit Is attacked while small, and does not drop, It Is apt to grow knurly.
The mjoeliam of the fnngas does not penetrate Into tbe fletb, but works In tbe akin, epidermis or cuticle. In many cases destroying the epidermis, wbleb turns brown and dies. A new epidermis Is formed nnder tbe one destroyed, which In torn Is also destroyed, causing tbe part to become thick and corky. The fruit contin- uing to grow, while the diseased partcannot, causes arnptare of the skin, which, as tbe fruit grows, opens and becomes deeper, producing what is known as cracked fruit. If the scab does not attack tbe fruit until late in the season, the mycelium does not penetrate the epidermis, but grows upon the ontstde and shows Itself bf covering the «kin to a greater or less extent with a cloudy coating, which makes the tia\t present a bad appearance when placed on tbe market, and afi'eets its vaiae.
Various mixtures have been experimented with to test their value in checking the scab. Of tbe several compounds used, that known as tbe Bordeaux mixture has In nearly every instance given the best results— the fruit, when It was used, being larger, more perfect In shape, and less covere<1 with the scab than ftDlt grown on trees not sprayed. To obtain the best results tbe trees should, be Bpray«d thot- ongbiy with the Bordesox mixture before tbe leaves start, doubling tbe quantity of sulphate of copper.
While In flower the trees should be sprsyed with the simple mixture. After the petals of the flowers fall, the Bordeaux mixture may be mixed with either Paris green or London purple when spraying for insects.
The past spring two rows or Jenltons were selected In the station orchard. One was sprayed when the fruit was but one-third of an inch In diameter with the Bordeaux mixture mixed with Paris green ; tbe other row was sprafed with Paris green. The fruit on tbe row not sprayed with the copper mixture was small, cracked and spotted, while that on the row sprayed with it was mneh larger and showed less cracked and scabby fruit. The leaves on tbe trees sprayed with tbe
WINTBB MEETING AT CLINTON. 247
mixture were lu%e. of good oolor and remained longer od the treea ; while on the trees In the other row the leaves were narrow, bad a light elckly color, and the trees durlog the euramer looked as if about hsIC of the foliage had fallen.
During the nhole season the oontrast was very marked in favor of the trees sprayed wltti the copper mixture.
The Tlnejard, covering aboat two aerea of land, waa sprayed regnlarlf wltlt the Bordeaux mixture last year and during the put season. The crop of last ^ear was oonslderahly Injured by the rot, while this season fully 90 per cent of the fmlt was saved.
To obtain the beat results, the spraying should be done on an extended scale and for a number of years. If only a limited area or single tree Is sprayed the hen- eflt may not be notleed, altboagh a large number of Insects or spores of fungi may liave been destroyed, as these may be more than balanced by the new supply from neighboring fields and orchards.
But when an orchard of considerable size Is sprayed, or where sprayingls practiced by a cojomunlty, the benefit derived from tt win be marked, and spraying will be found to be one of the most profitable and neseseary operations in tlie on)- tivatlon of fruits.
ExPEhiHBNT Station, Columbia, Mo.
DIBCUSSION.
Mr. Helvero, of ArkaoBae — What time does the codling moth de- poBit its eggs t
Mr. Clark — The egg is laid jtist aboat the time the blossom fEtlls and for two or three weeks afterward, If yoa spray before the blos- aom falls it will poison the bees. Spray after the blossom falls and again in about two weeks. One insect lays abont fifty eggs.
Mr. Helvern— In my orchard the eggs were laid before the leaves came out.
Mr. Olark — Yoa are thinking of the canker worm.
Mr. President — What is the experience of those who have sprayedt
Mr, Clark — ^That a man sboald spray only one tree might not be mach benefit, for the insects come from everywhere. Spraying large orchards and whole neighborhoods will give the best resolts.
We got only one good crop from the college \ ineyard. The grapes rotted year after year. It was a regular hot-bed of rot. Last year, af- ter spraying with the Bordeaux mixture, we got some grapes. This season X sprayed regularly and got a better crop than the good crop we got three years after the vineyard was planted. It has to be done systematically and on a large scale to accomplish much good.
The eggs of the first brood of the codling moth are laid in the calyx or blossom end of the apple. They are not covered with a web< The after-crop is laid and eats its way into the fruit If you spray thoroughly for the codling moth you will kill it sorely. I*a8t year one man in New York sprayed five times and had fine fruit. His neigh- bor's fruit was worthless.
248 STATE HOETIODLTCBAL 8O0IBTY
J. W. Ssllee — I lived fifteen years in California; they epray there aa resniarly as they cultivate, but Hprayins for the codling moth has never been very satisfactory. It kills insects apoQ the foliage, but the codling tnotb has almost rained the bnsiness of apple and pear growing. If there has been any snccessfnl experience in spraying for the codling moth it voold be a great thing for the Califomians. Some of the horticnltnriste of California spend thonsande of dollars a year fighting insects.
Mr. Carpenter — I wonld like to know what kind of pnmp it re- quires for two hands to spray one hundred trees in a half day t Don't they have one more brood of the codling moth in California than we have, and might not that make a difference in onr fovorl They might increase more rapidly there titan here.
Mr. Sallee — They nse a force pump with two hose ; one man at the pnmp and one to carry the hose. The hose has attached a long piece of gas-pipe for reaching all parts of the tree. If three men spray fifty orange trees in a day, they do well.
Mr. Speer — I fonud one good paying orchard free from wormy fruit, and the reason the owner gave was that he had washed the trunks of his trees every year with strong soap-sads and carbolic acid. He claimed that the smell of the carbolic acid kept the insects away. Bight in the same neighborhood I found insects plentiful. Whether there is anything in his reasoning, I don't know.
Bam. Miller — Is the codling moth a night or day insecti
Mr. Clark — It moves mostly at night.
Sam. Miller — I have raised several crops of plnms by smoking with coal tar.
Mr. Wade — My experience in spraying on a small orchard of 150 trees is : I bought a small pnmp ; I have used it for three years ; one of my neighbors has borrowed it; we have sold our ft-nit for one to two dollars a barrel more than our neighbors; we gave tliorongh cul- tivation ; in an orchard sprayed but not cultivated the fmit was wormy ; I think the most good is thorough cultivation and not in the spraying.
Mr, Clark — Mr. Hazeltine did not prune or cultivate his orchard, and the whole soil is full of insects. In plowing your orchard yoo made your trees grow thrifty, covered and killed many insects.
Mr. Wade — This other neighbor of mine who sold his fruit for a good price did not cultivate.
Mr. Murtfeldt — The treasurer of the Kansas Horticultural society has a large commercial orchard ; he spent a good deal of money and much time in spraying his orchard, and when asked what good it had done, said: "^one at all." By spraying yon are killing yonr insect
■WIHTKE MBBTINa AT CLINTON. 249
. CriendB as well as yoor foes. I doobt whether there ia one iotelli' gent horticnltnriBt in twelve who knows ineeot foes from fiiende. Spraying will kill your birds ; yon can tam your swine or sheep in yonp orchard; they will kill may worms.
G. W. Hopkins — There is one thing to which I wish to call atten- tion before we pass: We have something in Greene connty that ie be- coming qnite serione ; it is called the black or bitter rot ; is there any remedy for it!
President Evans — We will ask Prof. Clark about that in a short time.
H, B. Francis — When a yoong man I saw a trap in a California orchard for the codling moth, I don't believe it can fly ; I think we can trap it.
WEDNESDAY— 2 p. M.
The Henry county society invited the State society to visit the artesian well in a body.
It was moved and carried that the society visit the well at 8 a. m. Thursday.
An invitation to visit Baird college wae accepted, and the time set at 1:15 p. m. Wednesday.
Mr. Simpson of Mammoth Springs, Ark., exhibited samples of trees from his orchard killed by the woolly aphis.
Mr. Simpson — I have been in baainess twenty-one years. I left the farm twenty-one years before. When I had been away from it that long I thought I conld startin again jast where I bad left off. I bought Bome land, had it put in good condition and had a thousand trees set oat. I got the trees in Howell connty, Mo , as near home as I conld ; not more than thirty miles from where I planted them. I thought I was safe in planting them. I want to show you some of my trees. I had them cnltivated and the ground plowed three times this summer, but I foand my trees were dying, and the leaves falling off. I pulled np one aud found the roots wrong. The neighbors said the trees were diseased. I have taken op about 120 of the trees and have not found one healthy. Here are samples of them : (The treee had knotty roots, and were miserable looking specimens in every way.) Do I run any risk in planting new, sound trees in the same ground t
by Google
260 STATE HOSTIOtTI'TTTBl.L 800IBTT.
Mr. FnnoiB — I had eome trees three years old affected with the aphia. I took a barrel, filled it half fall of water, and added a pint of ocffbolio aoid. I washed the trees in thie water, set them oat and none of them died.
Mr. HeWera — In June I told Mr. SimpBoa I thonght it would be God's blesBiDg for all of his trees to die. Thpy were all diseased and some of them were seedlings. Those trees will never make him an orchard: I noticed bat one tree that appeared all right. In t&cX I don't think there is a single tree in the orchard that I woald leave standing. This foil he asked me to go through the orohard. I marked 700 trees as bad, and left many that I thought were not good. My opinion was that he would have to dig up every tree and burn them up.
Mr. Simpson — Is there any method of treating these trees 1
Mr. Francis — I have trees that were once infected with the aphis so that at one time I was very nneapy. I plowed my ground thor- oughly and put ashes around the trees. That was some seven years ago. They have borne good crops since. I wash the roots thoroughly before I plant,
Mr. Dnrand — The gentleman asked what he coald do with his trees. If I had the orchard I wohld dig up every tree.
Dr. Bailey, of Xew Mexico — I had Bome trees similarly affected two years ago. I put one onnoe of carbolic acid ,into one gallon of water and ponred it around the collar of the tree. I don't see anything the matter with them now. The trees were not as bad as these shown by Mr. Simpson.
Mr. Evans — It is evident that Mr. Simpson's trees were infected when planted, and the disease has grown on them.
Mr. Helvem — The trees are, many of them, seedlings, old, rongh, scrubby stock.
Mr. Faith — If the trees were mine I would dig np every one of them. I would take some of the best of them and plant them in nor- sery rows as an experiment.
Mr. Mnrray — ^The light thing would be to root every one of them ont of the ground. I would not be deterred ft'om planting other trees in the same ground, even in the same spaces. When trees are isolated it is not as dangerous as Bmall-pox among people. I would plow np the ground this fall.
Mr, Carpenter — It seeme highly probable that the gentleman's trees were enervated when he planted them, I would take them out entirely.
Mr. Wade— I fear that he might fiul to get rid of the aphis. Tim- ber land, fresh cleared, seems to be highly favorable to this insect.
WINTBB UEBTINa AT OLinTON. 251
My aon-in-lav planted two acres of timber laBCl foar years ago, and bis trees continae to die.
Mr. Tarner— I think tbey Bhonld be eradicated^^the gioaod plowed, and make a new trial. It is well that tbe nurserymen look well for tbe woolly aphis. I want to know if the apbia which makes a spot npon the body of the tree is the same !
Several members said it was the same thing.
C. M. Stuk — I would take the dirt away from tbe roots of the tree and give it a bath of boiling hot water.
L. A. G-oodman — The first thoDsand trees I plaQt«d took three times a thousand before I got a stand of thrifty trees. Don't be dis- conraged by a little back-set. Those trees were diseased. Take every tree oat ; plow ap the gronnd this fall ; leave it rough ; mark off newly md set twenty-flve feet apart.
Mr. BimpBOD— Woald it be safe to plant trees in the same places next spring 1
Mr. Goodman — I think so. Pay no attention to the old spaces. I replanted with good trees on the same groand.
Sam Miller— If we had such land as the Arkansas land, I would not be a&aid to plant in the same spaces.
President Evans — Those trees were nearly dead when he planted them.
Mr. Nelson — I think Mr. Wade left a wrong impression in regard to planting on new land. My plan is to stake the groand before plow- ing it, and barn the brash where tbe tree is to stand.
Mr. Simpson — I thank yoa for yoar information, and think that I can profit by it.
HtaXOBT OF THB AFPLB,
J. W. TIYLOB, CLINTOW.
The origin of tbe apple Ib sbroaded la obecnrlty, 'which can only b« removed by tb« patient study andreBearob of modera hortlcuIturlBta. Tbe definition of the word apple: 1. Tbe fleshy pone or fruit of a rosaceous tree {^Pyna Malia), culti- vated In numberleM varieties Id tbe temperate zones. 3. Any tree of tbe genus (Pyrvt) wbloh has the stalk sunken into the base of tbe fruit.
The first mention made of tbe apple Is In "Holy Writ," before Christ 1,000 years. Solomon, In speaking of the mutual lore of Christ and hts church, Bays : "Stay me with fiagouB : comfort me with apples." "As tbe apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the song." "I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and hU fruit waa sweet to my tsate." * * * "I raised tbee op under the apple tree." ProlVtae history by Josepbus says : > ' There was a certain place about flfty furlongs distant from Jerusalem, which le called Elbam; very pleasant It Is In fine gardens, and abounding In rivulets of water; thither did Solomon use logo out in tbe morning, sitting on blgh (In his chariot)." "fie made blmgardeus and orchards, and planted trees in them of all kinds of ^'ulta;
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.gk
353 ST&TB HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
be made bim pooli of water to water tbe wood (hat bringeth laixh treea ;" and to the finest part whereof he eeeme to allade, when l)e eompaTes his Hpouse to a ' 'gar- den enclosed," to a ''Bprlng shut up," to a "rountaln oeiled" (CanticleB, 4-12], a part of which fouDtalne (according to Hr. Haundrell) are Btlll extant. Solomon also built other cities In order to the enjoyment of pleasures and delloaulea In them, such as were naturally of a good temperature of the air, and agreeable for fmlts ripe in tbeir proper ae&eoaa, and well watered with springs. (Antiquities of the Jews )
Again (In tbe sacred writings), tbe lamentations of the prophet Joel, 800 jears before Christ : " Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen ; the vine is dried up and the fig tree langulshetb ; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all tbe trees of tbe field are withered, because joy Is withered away from the sons of men." Before Christ 484 years the apple |1b mentioned by Herodotus, also by TheophraatuB 287 years before Christ.
The common apple tree (I'yru* Malua) it supposed to be a native of the Eastern hemisphere. Europe furnishes only a small number of sweetlsh-Hold fruits. Of tbese the apple and the pear are of the most Importance. The apple tree Is a na- tive of tbe mouotKln forests of temperate Europe, as aUo of the Caucasus. A pples were raised In the gardens of the PbenlciaoB, but the Romans first occupied them- selves more closely with the oultivation of It, and produced numerous vsrietlee, among which we may recognize. In part, the kinds of apples of tbe present day.
Some of the kinds were introduced by Applus from Oreece 313 years ttefore Christ. 'I'beophrastus knew two kinds ; Cato, 334 before Christ, seven ; and Pliny (the naturalist), wbo lived until A. D. 79. knew thirty-six kinds. Palladlas. who lived In tbe sixteenth century, only knew tblrty-seveu kinds of apples.
The Pyrua Baeeata. ai Siberian crab, is so distinctly marked as to be admitted MB species. It has been improved by culture, and Las produced some quite dis- tinct vsriettes. Pallas, who found It growing wild near Lake Baiksl, says It grows only three or fonr feet high, with a trunk of as many inches In diameter, and yields pear-shaped berries as large as peas. Among tbe early writers on the subject of pomology we find grafting to Improve the wlldllng to be a very ancient invention. Pltny, the naturalist, certainty deserves onr praise for his wonderful and eompre- beniive Industry In all branches of natural history. In regard to grafting which seems to hnve been well understood In bis day, he says, that he had seen near ThQlla a tree hearing all mftnner of fruits, nuts and berries, figs and grapes, pears and pomegranate— no kind of apple or other fruit that was not to be found on this tree.
That the Epirdlica, ttum Eplrus, were what we call apples, there can be no doubt, as they are described by Pliny as a ftuit with a tender skin, that can be easily peeled off'^ and, besides, he mentions "crabs" and "wlldllngs" as being smaller, "and for their barth sourness they have many a foal word and shrewd curse given them."
Tbe cultivated apple, probably, was not very abundant at Rome in Pliny's day, for, he state), "There were some trees In the villas near tbe city whlcb yielded more profit than a small farm, and which brought about the invention of grafting." "There are apples," continued he, "that have ennobled the countries (Tom which they came; and our best varieties will honor tbeir grafters forever; SQCb as took tbelr names from Hatiua, Cestlus, Manliui and Claudius." Colum- ella, a practical huebandraan, who wrote some years before Pliny, describes several ways of grafting, as handed down to him by the ancients. Borticultaral pursuits were deemed so honorable among the Romans that many of their dlstingalshed
hvCoeH^lc
WINTBB MBBTirra AT OLINTOM 263
bmilleB derived their earnamea from some species of fruit or vegetable which ther were celebrated for cultivating. In modern days we have reversed this order and bestowed the sortiamee of onr eminent botanists on the plants themselTee. Even the trees sapplj their quota of nsmes. Who Is not aware of Mr. Harper Twelve- tree's exletenco, and cannot see that his ancestor, having made his abode beflde some remarkable group of birch, oak or apple trees, has been et; led by bis neigh- bors Peter atte Twelvetreesf Bencethe French Qnatref^gee, and more English Crsbtree, Plnmtree, Bonntree, Appletree and Peartree. Dr. Prior remarks that all these names still exist, and entries can bo found (In the London directory] tA prove that they existed at least six hundred years ago.
Legends respecting the apple are very nameroas. As there existed In far western seas the garden of the Uesperldes, or the fortunate Isles, bo we find In tbe traditions of the British Isles similar stories about Avaloo. "Of all fmlts, the apple seems to have the widest mystical history. The myths oonoerning It meet us In every age and country. Apbrodit« bears It In her hand, as well as Eve. The serpent guards It, the dragon watches It ; It Is celebrated by Solomon ; It la the healing fmlt of Arabian tales. Bat oftener the apple Is tbe tempter. In nortbem mythology, the Isle of the Blessed, of which we read In Keltic traditions, is the beaatlfDl Avalon, or Isle of Apples,
"WberarUli noCball, oitoId. or any bdow. NorsrsTwind blowi londljr; bnt lln> Deep-meadowed, Iiappy, fall with arebaid lawns Andboweily bollowi crown 'd wltb Bommer lea." Among other adornments of the Paradise which tbe Polynesian Imagination has depleted, we flad the tabooed bread-fruit tree and the sacred apple tree. The priests of the olden time are said to have held that the forbidden fruits of these trees were In some manner connected with the trouble and death of the first man and woman , a legend which reminds us of tbe forbidden fruit of Eden.
Closely connected with this tree Is the tree of Life. How far the religions systems of the great nations of antiquity were afTeoted by the record of the Creation and Fall preserved In the opening chapters of Qenesls, It Is not perhaps possible to determine.
There are certain points of resemblance which are at least remarkable, but which we may assign, if we please, either to Independent tradition or to a natural darelopment of the earliest or primeval period. The trees of Life and of Know- ledge are at onoe suggested by the mysterious Dscred tree which appears In Che most ancient soolptures and paintings of Egypt and Assyria, and thoseof the re- moter East. Professor Walters claims to have seen ooplee of palntlnga made 364 years before Christ, in which the diameter of the apple was only twice tbe width of tbe leaf. In the symbolism or, those nations, the Sacred tree sometimes figures as the type of the universe, and represents tbe whole system of created things, but more frequently as a tree of Life, by whose fruit the votaries of the godd are nour- ished with divine strength, and prepared for the joys of Immortality. The con. tamlnating infloenoes of bad manners are set forth by the Dutch and Spanish proverb: " The rotten apple spoils its companion."
The custom of throwing the peel of an apple over the head, and Judging whether single blessedness or the married state awaits the person In the future, is very old, and still well known In England. Some read In the shape of the peel, as It fUls on the ground, tbe Initial letter of the future sweetheart's name. The Qer- man peasantry shoot an apple-pip from the fingers on Hew Year's night, at the same time ottering a prayer, and watching the direction taken by the seed. The
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_'V_)'
..^ic
251 8XATB HOBTIOULTUBAL BOCIBTT.
sweetheart mar be looked for rrom the B&tne dlFection. [n AmIiIk, we are told that on St. Thomas' night an apple U out la two, aod the seedH ia each baU carefully counted . If they are even, a marriage will soon follow ; tf one of the seeds ihonM have been cut Id two, the course of love will not be smooth. PerhapB, however, this is not to be altogether regretted, If the old adage that "true love never rune amoothlv" be true. If two be cut, It Indicates coming widowhood. Something Blmilar to this Is found in the cuHtoni oomnion still among oar youDg people, of oountlog the aeeda of the same fniit, or sticking them on the forehead, to see which win remain longest in position. In some remote German villages it Is customary to pat an apple into the baod of a child while It lies in Ira little coflin, that It may have the apple to play with in Paradise, as the people express It. The apple-tree tus l>een regarded to some countries as being endued with the power of prodacing showers of ratn. In Northamptonshire, if flowers flourish out of season, sickness and death are thereby Indicated ; thus the blooming of an apple-tree after ttie f^lt is ripe, Is regarded as a sore omen of death ; whence the following couplet :
' 'A bloam on tb* tree when ths applet ue rlpa, Ii a anra mmliiaUon to lomabwly't life,"
Very quaint are some of the names of apples as employed In different localities In Devonnhlre and elsewhere. A few examples will inffloe: There are Stnbberds and Quarranders, Quinces and No-plps, Tom-nrns and FIg-noees — namea drawn ttoto the etraoge shape, flavor or other peoullarltles of the trait. We meet, too, with apples called Flesh -and-blood, with X^sther-hldes (spoken of by Shakespeare) and White-heads and Tom-pots, the last being a familiar name In Somerset. There are Sweet-Iadens In Bnssex, and Flve-erowns and Dnck's-bills, while Bitter-sweets are common everywhere. Then the Jack-tars and Boff-eoate, Bow-billa and Win- ter Wardens, not to mention such well-known varieties as Sweet Herefords or Bibs tone pippins.
In some of the disturbances in Italy, party spirit ran so high in Bergamo (says one writer) that a party meaning was attached to apples, peaches and other frnlts. The battle of Hastings is said to have been fought {net thnm haran Apnldran) ''at the hoar apple tree." TbiH, as De Dasent remarks, was evidently some venerable tree , grey witb years, and well known as a landmark. Prom this word, Apnldran, we get the idaoe-names Appledore, Appledram and Applednroombe. In Devonshire, the peasantry gather in apples which they Intend to store away at the ' 'shrinking of the moon." 80 long as the moon Is Increasing, the apples are fhll, and will not keep. So if the apple is stored "full," It will not keep long; but it begins to fast as soon as the moon begins to wane. That Is the argument, although you do not hear It reasoned out, perhaps, In so many words. Another snperstttlon among th« same simple folk is to the eflect that tf the sun shonld shine on the Apple t»a on Christmas day, and the day be flne. It Is an Indication of good crops the ensolng year. On the other hand, a gloomy Christmas day, with nosnn, aognraUl. This may perhaps be a proper place for mentioning the old oostom of blessing or waa- saillng the apple trees. This cnstom has not yet died ont; for on the 17th of Jan- nary of the year 1882, the men and lads of Wlvelscombe, In the west of SngUnd, went round singing to the apple trees on the varions farms as tbey used to do a oentnry ago. This cnstom owes its origin to the superstition to which Herrlok refers that In the foUowing lines from his flesperldee :
WMsall tba tree* Uist tbey mif bear YoD msnr » plmn sod maoy ■ poaii For ttunt or leu troll* ttaer ^*IU bdos, Aa yon do stve tbem WMaatllns.
WINTER MBBTUTG AT OUNTOIT. 266
Tbe tout having been sung, throe oheen tn given for the tree, and of Ute jeare, In tbe Delghborhood of Newton Abbot, gana wero flred aa well. The onetom boi ■ long and intereatlng hlttor^. Some have euggcated that as tbe mistletoe growa largely on the apple tree, this latter came In for a share of the sanctity and reverence to wblcb the oak had latd claim, it ia said that tbe Botnaiia Introduced the apple tree Into England, and the onatom above referred to Is obaerved In honor ■ of Pomona, the goddesB of fruit trees. Otbera And In tbe cnstom a coanecttng link with the Oerman methods of inoltlng the trees to frultfalness, while other* flnaltf tblnk that the ceremony Is connected witb the old customs observed still in the Black mountains and elsewhere, and corresponding to the sun worship at the time ofthe new year. Ht^g, In his British Pomology, quoting Owen, says, the ancient Olsslonlmry was called avallio or avallon, meaning an apple orobard, and from this be Infere that the apple was known to the Britons before tbe advent of the Bomana. We are told that In 973 King Kdgar, when fatigued with the chaae, laid himself down under a wild apple tree, so that It becomee a question whether this plant is not a native of England (ss of other parts of Europe), where in many places It is found growing wild and apparently Indlgenona. The making of older was Intro- daced Into Britain by tbe Normans, who, It Is said, obtained the art from Spain, where tt Is no longer practiced. This liquor la supposed to have been llrst koown In Africa, from It flrst being mentioned by the two African fothers, Tertulllan and Augustine.
Thornton Informs us In his history of Turkey that apples are common In TFallachla, and he citea among the varieties one, the AnnxiaMo, "which Is perhaps the finest In Europe, both for its size, color and flavor."
The Introduction of the common apple tree Into tbe British North American colonies dates back to the early periods of tbelr settlements. The seeds of apples were brought tmia England at the order of the "Qovernor and company of the Massaobusetts Bay In New England," In 1629.
Apples were cultivated near Plymouth by the Pilgrims soon after their arri- val, and aome of the original trees were standing there np to within a few years (A. D. lSo3}. To Massachusetts we are indebted for tbe famous "Baldwin apple," so mncb esteemed for Its good qualities and long keeping. Orchards were propa- gated freely from It more than eighty years ago. The flrst orchard planted In Bhode Island was In 1836 by Bev. William Blackstone. Tbe apple was planted at Hartford, Connecticut, previous to the year 1646. An ancient tree of the " Pear- main" variety Is still standing on the Charter Oak place in that city, which was btongbi from England by George Willis more than 200 years ago. The " Fisher apple" was brought to Portsmouth, New Bampablre, by John Fisher, a merchant from London, In 17— . The original tree Is still standing on tbe public farm of that city. In good bearing condition la 1741 apples were exported from New England to the West Indies In considerable abundance. Prior to that period one hundred hogsheads of older were made ftom a single farm. The common apple was grafted on wild crab stocks In Tlrglnla In 1647. The original ■' Newtown Pippin " tree Is stated to have been the spootaneoas productloa of a seed near a swamp In New- town, Long Island, New York, more than a oentary and a half ago. After endur- ing more than 160 years, this tree died in about the year 1805 ftom excessive cut- ting and exhaustion. Its scions were in great request by orcbardlsts of the day, and engrafted trees are still to be met with in tbe neighboring towns, which have stood beyond the memory of those who are now living. A " Codling" tree, sent from England about a centuiy ago, to Benedict Calvert, Is now standing in full vigor, near Mt. Airy, Prince Qeorge's county, In Maryland. It appears from
250 8TATB HOKTIOULTUBAL BOOIBTT.
" Dodelef 'r London Beglater " that a premlnm of teo ponnds wm awarded to Tbomas Young, of Orster Bay, Id 1766, fOr the largest nareery of apple trees, tbe number of trees being 37,133. The quantltj of apples exported trom tS20 to 18G3 amounted to 010,803 barrels, worth $1,{>S3,837. It Is said that the apple oropofth« United States in a single year had reached the enormoas amount of IK), 000, 000 bush- ' ela, and that 1,000,000 of aores are planted with apple trees.
DISCUSSION.
Conrad Hartzell — I am well pleased to eay to ;oa a few tbinge. I tbink onr fiieud from Holt coaut; left a wrong impreseioD. I do not find Mr. Murray's trees as close to the gronnd sa aome seem to think. I can get aroand and under his trees. I raised tvo orchards in tvo different states. There ia a mistake about planting orchards and mak- ing them proiltable in seven years and taking them out. The best orchard I know, iu Michigan, the trees are forty feet apart. It pro- duces more fruit per acre than any other orchard in the State of Mich- igan— not per tree, bnt per acre. That gentleman who did not want to make any mistake mnat not plant too close. The talk about spraying reminds me that here is another mistake. The problem of keeping insects in subjection is solved, but I cannot make yon understand. If I gave it to you, yon would not believe it.
Jacob F^th — It appears to me, Mr. President, that we should dis- cuss what are the most profitable varieties.
President Evans — Ben Davis is the answer to that.
C. C. Bell — The gentleman who has just taken hia seat (Mr. Hart- zell) has a plan for keeping apples. That might be good for the dealer, bnt not for the producer. I still think that there is nothing like clear- ing np the market
Sam. Miller — The horticulturist could keep his own trait, Mr. Morray — A neighbor of mine has need Mr. Hartzell'e plan of keeping apples for years. I have seen him sell his apples for three dollars per bushel, after I was done selling my Early Harvest and Maiden Blusb.
KBEPIHQ OUT BOBBBB.
Mr. Murray — Screen wire cloth will keep them out. When they are in, cut them out with a knife.
D. A. Bobnett — Two years ago last fall, I commenced planting an orchard of one hundred acres. I got them troia » nursery that had no borers. I pnt wire gauze aionnd the trees. My man who looked over 1,600 trees, stud he woold give five dollars for every borer found in tbem. If yOD take np the wire iu the &11 and loosen it, yon will have no trouble.
What month in the year is best to prune apple trees I
by Google
WIHTEB UBBTina AT OLINTGN. 257
Jftcob Faith — I have an orchard of 2,300 trees in which I will pay ten dollars for borers fonnd. In another eiffbteeu-year-old a man coold get rich at five cents a borer. I make a solnUon of cmde carbolic acid with which I can wash eight hnndred trees a day.
S. W. Gilbert— I have need a wash of carbolic acid that was Bno- cesefal with apples bnt a failure with peaches.
Mr. Robnett — Will not stronj; alkali injure the trees t
Mr. Goodman— S'o; the alkali does good.
Mr. Patterson — I have washed my trees for seven years with alkali.
Sam. Miller — Paper wilt keep oat borers. A man told me that a good forkfnl of manare woold keep them out.
Mr. Francis — Thirty-six years' experience proves that corn-stalks tied around the tree will keep them oat.
J. G. Kinder — Cut elm stove-wood when the bark will peel; put the bark aronnd the tree ; it will protect from both borers and rabbits,
D. A. Robnett — This wonld be very injnrioas to trees. I killed some of my trees with tarred paper.
Mr. Walters — I want you to try ants' nests around your trees. A little sweetened water will induce them to come and get the borer. If the ants get too numerous, kill them with burning salphar. I believe the time will come when the people will care for ants as much as we do for bees now. Ton can send them almost anywhere.
J. W. Sallee — Will they eat the parasites from the trees !
Mr. Walters — They most certainly will.
BBBBIE8 IN SOUTH MISBOUBI.
O. W. HOPKINS. BFBINGFIZLD, UO.
The subject ossig^ned me Is rather of an Indefinite obaracter, and I hardlf know what is expected, but will endeavor to touch upon some points that ma7 be of to ter- est. Uy experleoce and observation on this question <a oonSned to & ver; small pifftion of Soath Hlssourl, and I cannot and will not attempt to speak with any degree of certatnty, eicept In the immediate locality In which I reside. 1 shall begin with the strawberry. After an experience of four years in raising the alMve fmit In this locality, I am satlsflei that, with the proper preparation of tbe soil and good cultivation, it can he brought up to Its highest degree of perfection. I have never seen finer strawberries anywhere than myself and others have grown In the vicinity of dpringHeld. There I'eems to be something In the soil which gives to the berries a rich color and glossy appearance, and some clf ma t Ic Inflaence which makes the berries more firm than the same varieties are found to be further north.
There Is no excuse for any one not succeeding in raising a crop of strawberries in South Missouri. The soil should be well prepared, the plants of suitable varieties and well selected, carefully set and thoroughly cultivated during the eeason, and a crop of berries Is almost absolutely certain.
HE — 17
.y Google
258 STATE HOBTIOULTDRAL flOCIETT.
There Is but tittle dagger In tble locftlitf of ftrawbenieH, If properlj mulcbed, u thej abonld be, ever being Injured by drontb dorlng the fruiting mmod.
The rains generally continue up to July and Angnst, though this year It wae dtytbe middle of June, which waa too late tomaterlally affect the strawberry crop. I sbtll saj nothing about varlettea, as that qneatf on will be before you and dlscusaed frum another standpoint.
The following rarletles are principally grown In this locality : Crescent, Ru- baob, Cumberland, Windsor Chief and some Ht Vernon and Oandy. Other new vftrietles are being tried In a small way, but as yet are not sutBoIently tested to know how they will Bucoeed.
The present year witnessed the largest crop of strawberries ever grown In South UlBsourl, and prices were ralnonsly low. Many growers were ao discouraged that they have given their vines no attention, while others have plowed them ap. 'l*be present outlook would indicate that the orop next year will not be near so large and the prices ranch better.
The strawberry Is something that is perishable. When It is ripe it must be disposed of Immediately.
There are some things which the grower must l^ce, and the sooaer the better. We must have better transportation rates, utilize the surplus fralt la canneries, or grow less of It.
Hy experience and observation In this locality has convinced me that the rseit- berry does not succeed so well here as at other points. My Information Is to the effect that It does better farther south {la Bowell county and on the western borders of the state) than here. Whether this Is uwlng to something lacking In the soil, or to high altitude and sadden dlmatlc ohanges, I am unable to say. Uy vines fbr tb« past two seasons have been affected with some kind of a scab. They pre- sent the appearance of having been visited with a severe hail-storm or stung by souie insect. Some say It Is caused by hot sun In summer, while others attribute it to a sudden cold spell in winter. I do not believe that either is correct, as 1 found It on my yonng oanea the last of Uay. I made a careful examination several times, bat failed to find an insect at work. Any Information on the subject will be thank- fully received. The raspberry crop the past aeason was light and prices good. In fact, the crop was hardly sufficient to supply the local demand In the city of Spring- field. The varieties mostly raised are : of Black Caps; Soubegan, Hopkins, Oregg, Mammoth Cluster. Ifewer varieties are being tried. Of red varieties, the Tnrner and Shaffer's Colossal are principally grown.
Liketbestrswberry, this frnlt seems to be perfectly at home in South Missouri. It grows spontaneously all the way from Springfield to Arkansas. The blackberry has been set quite eztenalvely in Qreene county In the last two years.
The price of blackberries is considerably affected by the wild orop. Last year there waa an Immense crop of wild berries, and pricea ruled low. Thta year the early dtouth cut off the wild ones and prices were better.
The principal varieties raised here are Klttatlnny, Western Triumph and Snyder. Some are testing the Agawam , Erie and Knox.
1 have seen hot tittle ruet among the blackberries In this locality during the five years I have lived here. The gooseberry seems to do welt In South Missouri , Though we seldom see it growing, except In the wild state, or a few bushes Id the gardens for home use. And now, in conclusion, I want to caution my brother
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'Vil>
WINTBB MBBTINa AT OLINTON. 269
frult-growera mgalnet the practice of settlDg largel; of new Tarletles of berrlcB before they have been properly tested. There eeeme to have bern Id the last few yean a mania, a perfect craze amoog nnrserymeii to propagate and Introduce new Tarietiea of berries. The country has been flooded with them, and while some few Jiavebeen good, the great majority have proved worthless. Bay sparingly, and fully test In your own locality belbre planting to any extent. If the new Is no better or not so good as the old, it Is folly to plant It simply beeauae tt 1b new. Nurserymen «ommU a wrong when they Introdace a new berry and recommend it fOr general planting In all kinds of soli and climate wltho|it knowing such to be the case. The history of berry culture In this conntry shows that among stranberrles, only a few ' ▼arleties have been sDcoessfully cultivated in all parta of the United States. The -old WUerni's Albany, Charles Downing, Cresoent, and later the Bnbach No. 6, seem to be the only varieties that have done well In most all parta of the Union. It is highly necessary that new varieties shall be produced to take the place of old ones that are on the decline, bat let as be sure they are an Improvement befcwe Introdaoing to the pablic.
DISOUSBIOIT.
J. W. Clark — I thought perhaps it would be well to state which Tarietiee did beat at the station this year.
Lady Busk is very flue indeed. It does Dot noften when picked. It is a good shipper, but there are a great many doable berries.
Haverland, Stayman^a Ko. 1, Crescent, Warfleld and Babaoh did well. Cloud produced a fine lot of folia^.
Jessie blossoms very early and is injured by late frosts. It is not desirable.
Lady Knsk stands the drouth bast of any kind we had,
Capt. Jack did tolerably well.
Oandy is a shy bearer.
Monarch of the West is only &{r.
Cumberland is good for home use, bnt is not a shipping berry.
The Bordeaux mixture checked and prevented the rust.
Bnbach will not fertilize itself in every season. It would be a little risky to plant it alone.
Crescent is not well fertilized by the Jessie, which blossoms too «arly. Capt. Jack is good for this purpose.
President Evans— The Michel is the best fertilizer of any berry I know.
Mr. Clark — Manchester is not profitable. It rusta and the fruit fails to mature well.
Mr. Ambrose — yurserymen are censured for sending out new kinds which often fail to come up to the expectations of the purchaser, bnt they are not always to blame. The originator or introducer gen- erally gets the indorsement of prominent boTticalturists, so that nur- serymen have to get and sell these new varieties to meet the demands of their customers.
STATB HOSTIOnLTTTBAL SOOIBTT.
BBBBIBS IN nOBTH UlSSOCBI.
B. SCHNBLL.
Mr. PrtKiUnt and Men^>en of the AftMoun Stale SortieuUunU SoeUtg :
Mj n»me Uon the program for a paper on -'fieirlea in North HlBaonrl." A» I Km not able to speak for North Hlsaourl In general, joa will have to be c<mtent with a few brief notee on benisB bere st Glugow. You all know tbere Is no time to viilt fellow ftDlt-growera during berry-picking time If thioge are to go right at home. We bad the promlae of an immense berr^ crop the past apring, but drr weather set la and the crop waa cnt abort. Red raspberries suffered most ; man; dried up oa the Tines. Of stTkwberrleH, we had alMut 6\ acres toft^lt; 1 acre tmarlng third crop, 1 aore second crop and 1 acre flrat crop, and J acre planted the fall previous ; from these we gathered 18.000 quarts, leaving a profit of $ ISO per acre, or 4 cents per quart after paying for picking, iwxes, etc. Raspberries— 3 acres in Black Caps and \ acre In Reds— 6,000 quarts ; profit per acre, {120, or about & cents per quart. Blackberries— 1 aore, 3, SOOquarts; protlt per acre about S90, or abont 3} cents perqua^t. As we nsuailr sell plants enough to pay the coetof onlti- vatlon, mulching, etc , the above about conttltnte the net profits per acre. This, In a dry season and low prices, I consider a very good showing. WUd blackberries were so plentiful bere that we had toaell ours mostly at Scents per quart or SO cents per gallon.
Instrawtwrrles, B a verl and, Jessie and Bubach No. 5 head tbe Hat, and will take tbe places of Gre*cent, Cumberland and (Windsor Chief, respectively. Gandy is tbe best late one ; not quite productive enough. Stayman's No. 1 and Warfieid not up to the standard here. Ulchel's Early heads the list for tbe beat grower; never saw such matted rows as they formed ; planted In rows four feet wide in April, they now cover tbe entire surface ; foliage 6 inchee high ; noneed of any mulch, tbey bave covering enough with ttaelr own leaves. Lady Kuak looks well; not fruited yet.
Of raspberries we grow Tyler, Hopkins, Ohio and Qregg, blacks; like them all, and they ripen about as in order named. Oregg not quite hardy here, but was very fine tbe past two years. Shaffer, no good ; canes die every winter. For reds, we grow Turner snd Brandy wine ; Cuthbert and Marlborough discarded.
Blackberries— Principally Snyder and Stone's Hardy ; some Taylor and a few Erie ; the latter not productive enongh, but large and fine and good quality. I find the old flaying, "There Is room on top," very appropriate for the berry grower. I find no trouble in disposing of choice berries at good prices, while poor stock goes begging and does not pay expenses^
Asone of tbe committee on small ftults, 1 will say that the prospects for a full crop for the coming season are very good. Plants all made a One growth and In good shape fbr winter. No Insects worth mentioning came to our notice the pait season, and while weather wasdry (he fore part of summer, we bave had floe weather since 13ch of August, when the drouth was broken.
.y Google
WINTER MSBTINQ AT CLINTON.
WEDNESDAY— Deoembee 4, 8 p. M.
A very entertainiDg violiD daet was given b; MisBes Doyle and Simpson, after which was read
BO&DSIDB AND YARD PLANTINQ.
BV O. ■. mtSBLER, IIEHKUH, KU.
In ro&dalde plftottng In onr compkratlTelf new conntrj, we M«m compelled to «H)slder only the ornamental feature! of the subject, not the profitable ■Ne.
Many 000 si deration! make It ondeslnble for as to follow the excellent exam- ple set by Tillage communltkB and towns In some European couutrlei, of planting ftult trees along the oonntr; roadways.
"niere the trees serve the double purpose of giving grateful shade to travelers, as well as paying with tfa el r fruit the entire cost of maintenance of the nsnally ex- cellent roads along which they are planted.
OoQld such trees be properly protected and cared for here, we might have country roads that we conid travel over In bad weather as well as good. How- ever, since good roads and absence of sneak thieves and vandals would bring us too near Utopia, we mugt content ourselves with planting shade trees. And after all, the cooling shade they afford makes ns more willing victims of bad road laws and Mill worse road overseers.
Both In country and oltj roadways, shade Is the principal object sought for. To obtain this In the country or aubnrb. selection can be made from c[ulte a large number of trees. As the Conifers do not seem adapted to this purpose, we will consider only the decldoous kinds.
SInoe It Is shade that we plant for, the tree that makes the most lateral growth Id addition to good height, other things being equal, li the one to select, and as there are many such kinds, the one that appears to thrive best in a given locality Is the tree that should be used most there. Such selection often gives a dtsttnotlve teatore to a locality.
Our standard trees for this purpose seem to be the White Elm and the Soft Haple. Of the many other kinds, the following are exoellent trees and do equally as Weill Bagar Maple, Linden, Box Elder, Walnut, Ash, Hickories, Sycamore, Cotionwood, etc., among the native trees.
Prom the nurseries we can obtain even a larger selection of anltable varieties. For Instance ; Silver leaved Linden, Bnropean Linden, Tellow Locust (Aoi. Pteudo Aeaaa), Oriental Plane (Sycamore). Tulip tree, Norway Maple, Magnolia Acuminata, AlianthuB and even Horse Chestnut.
The Bflleotion of trees for city streets nsrrows down to only a few kinds that will furvlve the many hardships they are subjected to. Where much coal soot pre- vails, the smooth, glossy-leaved trees seem to thrive best. The hardiest In such positions Is found to i>e the Carolina Poplar. After It come the Maple, Syoamore, Allanthoa and a few others. This last tree has been In bad repute on acconnt of the dtsagreeaMe odor of its flowers. When planted near dwellings, there Is no rea- son why the buds should not be cut off before opening. This is necessary only once In one or two years, and It woaid tnake It possible to again use a very serviceable and easily grown tree. The Elm Is often used In thickly populated distriots, and al ways presonta a dingy appearance because of Its rough leaves to which all soot
362 STATE HOETIOULTDBAL SOCIETY.
kdbereB, and for that reason nuthea an ondeBlnble tree there, alttaongh qalte hardy nuder encb condlttoos.
On ordinary roads in tlie coaDtry or anburb we nsnally And good land to plant trees on, and on auoh places nearly all viti of coarse grow well.
The planter Is frequently called on to place trees on Etrcets and roads that have been graded down, leaving the olay surface exposed. Here It !■ necessary to dig the holea not less than 3 to 3 feet deep, and with a diameter of 4 to 5, even ft feet, refllling with loam.
Many trees are killed and Taluable time lott by attempting to crowd the roota Into a hole barely large enoogh to put the spade Into.
Again, planting toodeeplyoauseemnchlosB that coo Id beavoided. Toplace a tree 3 to 4 Inchei lower than It stood in the narsery Is folly snfflolent as a general thing, bnt when, as many do, the trees are set 6 to 13 Inches below the snrbce, loss Is sore to occar.
For Immediate shade It fs well to plant street trees SO to 26 feet apart, cottlDg- oat every seeoDd tree when they begin to crowd each other. When the planting is done so, the alternate trees can be of some other kind than those Intended to tw permanent. Under all clroumitances it la best to plant yonog nursery-grown trees. Nothing looks worse than to see a large tree, when planted, cut back like a post. Bren if it grows, tbe new leader and lateral branches do not have the strength that the natural ones posseiB, and nsually the first heavy snow or sleet breaks them down and destroys the fnCure appearance of the tree.
As In roadside planting, so aUo in the yard. It is nndesirable to ooneider ftnit trees or Bbmbs. The mistake umally made when planting on house groonda Ik that of completely covering the lawns with trees and i>hrnbs. When trees are used on lawns they should be placed so that they will snpply all tbe shade that Is desira- ble without obstrnctlng the views to or from the house. In no case should they be planted promlscaooely over the gronnds, but should be grouped where they will produce tbe most pleasing effects. Used as screens, to cover any undesirable spots, close planting becomes neeeBsary, but as a general thing only a few large trees ar» required near a hoase.
It Is with the shrubs, both evergreens and decldnoas, that the yards are made to look best. And with this material we must be careful not to overload th& grounds.
Shrubs placed In clamps, partly around tbe grounds, partly in smaller groups on the lawns, form pretty pictares, and ebonld be selected for a succession of flowers- throughout the sea so .
Amongthesbrabsaresome with bright foliage that can be used to produce excellent effects of light and shade when placed In contrast with the darker ever- greens, such as the Silver Thorn {Elscagnut) , L,6% Buckthorn, the variegated AU theas. Box Elders, etc.
Of the flowering shrubs the following would give a succession of blossoms from late April to September andOotober. Among the early kinds are the Daphne, Lilacs, Dogwood, some Sptrfeas, Golden Bell, Hsgnolla glanca, etc. Later on come the flowers of Welgel{a,Tamarlx, White Fringe Deutzea, Snowball, Snow- drop tree [Syringa], Phlladelphns, Altheae, Corcboins, Japonica, and many others.
Last of all come the Hydrangea and Deemodium— the one with Its great white balls of flowers, contrasting beautifully with the pretty purple Desmodlum— not to forget roses, the beet of all.
Among the desirable evergreens we flnd the Arbor Vlts, not exactly the best bnt at least the hardiest and most serviceable, 'ihen Biota, Retlnospora, Janl- peis, ITew, Mahonla, Hoont^n Lanrel, etc.
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WINTER UBETINQ AT OLINTON. 263
Suoh a oolleotion of sliruba, well i^ouped and oared for, would make a vary haodBome loobtng yard , and lootlog at It from a pare); bnsinesB atandpolnt alone, woald enhance the value of sucb a place manj times tbelr coat, provided, always, that the yard and all within It i> neat and well cared (Or.
Mr. Kessler — I bad occaaioQ some three weefas ago to iospeet a sectioQ of land south of Fort Scott, Kansas, that was planted in timber trees to see how tbey would grow. It was planted very, closely, four by four feet, eleven, ten and nine years ago, mostly with Gatalpa Speciosa. They are now thirty feet high and need trimming. Box Elder, Ash and some others have not made a good growth, the Oatalpa Speciosa only being satisfactory.
HUMBUGS.
BT J. O. KIKDIR, IIEVADA.
Our worthy Secretary hat given me the above subject wltbool designating the kind of hambogs I should proceed to dissect, hot as this Is a gathering of hortlcal- toiists, and as there are qalte enough bortionltural bumbags to consume all the balance of this weeh to fittingly write them up, I shall have nothing to say of any other kind. It would have helped me greatly If some entomologtst would have given a correct definition of Just what family of bngs this most destracttve insect to frult-growlDg belongs, but I doubt very much If It Is possible to do so, because of the many rlzes and shapes we find tbem. However, he is usually foand with two loKB, but not always, because tbe completest one T have heard of lately had only one. a:id went on crutches; but he "got there with both feet" all the same.
In the common acoeptatlon of tbe term . to humbug Is to obtain something of value fbr an article that is worthless. To put It less mildly, it Is to obtain money ander false Dreteoses. To call It by Its proper name, it Is Just tbe meanest sort of stealing. Ordinarily tbe thief can pick your pocket and he only has that sin to answer for, but if he humbugs yon he goes for the pocket just tbe same, and has tbat and a whole batch of lies added to tbe other sin to answer Ibr; and his victim not only loses bis bard-earned money, but loses the care and labor bestowed on the article. Re also is very likely to loee his grip on tbe hereafter In tbe extremely forcible manner In which be expresses his opinion of tbe blankety blank soa of a gan that lied to blm. Nurserymen are more or leas to blame for tbe horde of hor- tieultnral humbugs perpetrated on tbe community. They too often are tbe silent partner la tbe transaction , Tbey perhaps do not tell tbe lie themselves , but hire others to, and grow or purchase the article, and accept tbeir share of the boodle . At tbe same time tbey know that the article Is atiBOlutely worthless, and know that tbey are accepting a price for It from five to twenty times Its cost.
Plek np the catalogues of our leading nurserymen . Do tbey carry a stock of pruoee SimonI, Ogon, Boton, or Mariana plums? Bave they tbe Russian mulberry, Utah hybrid cherry, tree gooseberry, or ever-bearing raspberry, and dozens of other articles just as worthless? If so, what price do tbey receive for them, and bow can the transaction be completed and tbe money received without someone being defranded and humbogged? But nurserymen ease tfaelrconaclence by claim- ing that they grow tbelr stocR to sell, and much of it Is wholesaled to dealers, etc. ; bat In law the receiver of stolen goods is held to be as guilty as tho burglar, and nurserymen cannot bnt be Judged as accessory before the fact, when they know
Dgnzs.uCoeH^IC
264 STATB HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
only too well the destloatlon of sach articles, and know that eomewtaere there K % victim waiting to be defrauded.
There U anotber Bpeoies of taumbuggerr tbat la snob beoaase of the meana naed to dliaemlnate the article. For iDstaDce, we can take the Arkanaaa black apple. It received a premium at the New Orleana expositloa, I bellevo, and I gnppose It U a valaable variety where It oifglnated, but Ihig fact was naed to give it extraordinary qualities In tbe fertile Imaginations of those dlMemlnatlng It, and the people were made to pay from five to ten times the price of our well-known roilable varieties. This has been going on for several yeara, nntli now a few of these hlgh-prloed trees are coming into bearing, when lo, we dad the Arkaosas black a very ordinary apple Indeed : that Is, if true to name—a thing not oecurrlDg In every tnittanoe by any means.
But a very few years ago [ picked up a catalogue of one of our prominent nurseries, and In it I saw a very strong indorsement of a certain apple by several of the officers and members of the HIssouH State Horticultural society. Now I believe their Indorsement was entirely honest, and [ have no donbt but this apple will be foDDd a valaable acqutsltlnn. But this same Indorsement will be the meana of Inducing the people to pay Ave or ten times as much for It as tbey could procure the Jonathan for. Yet I doubt if one of those gentlemen would honestly advise planting an orchard of It In preference to tbe Jonathan, even if trees could be pro- oared at same price.
I do not mention this as lo any way to censure any one for pnblloly Indorsing any valuble acquisition, but as a caution that In doing so, they place a leverage in the bands of those disseminating It to lift the hard earnings from the pockets of the people that could be expended more advantageously In other ways.
A year or more ago, the world was electrified, so to speak, by the advent of the Idaho pear. A nicely printed pamphlet, with an elegant colored plate of a mammoth pear as a frontispiece, was spread broadcast. This pamptet was made up by giving a history of the pear, and notices copied from different horticultaral loamals, and copies of letters from prwnlnent hortlcniturtsts. Of course, all those who spoke highly of the qaalltlea of the new fruit were copied, but 1 saw none of tbe other sort, and perhaps there'were none. But with all this flourish of trnmpets, the doleful cry comes to us tbat the mnch-vannted Idaho blights. Now, the Bart- lett can do that, and a dead Bartlett Is Jast as valaable aa a dead Idaho, and will only cost one-tenth as much. Another source of positive evil, and one that It often an outrage, Is the clause all nurserymen have in their cataloguea, of reserv- ing the right of substituting In case they are out of the variety ordered. Of course, sometimes this might be done and no Injury occur, and the party might even be beneOtted. But as a rule, the varieties nurserymen are out or are the leadtag, reliable frnlta, and It would be safe to say that not once In ten times does the cus- tomer get aa valuable a fruit aa the one ordered.
I was somewhat amused last aprlng at a neighbor who aent to a very promi- nent nursery in New Jersey for a few articles; among them was the Wonderful Peach, price for I-year tree 3S cents. When the bill oame there waa a peach tree In the lot, and It was wonderfol in one sense r It waa wonderfully amall, and It had » label tied to it marked Early Crawford. The explanation waa tbat be was Just out of Wonderfuis, and my neighbor concluded be was pretty near out of Crawfords from the aize of the specimens sent. The moral of this anecdote lies In the fhct that be could have bought a 1-year Early Crawford of our home narserlea seven feet high for 10 cents. Only a few days ago I met a victim of substituting, and saw where he had been compelled to top-graft about 100 trees to Ben Davis, the variety
WINTRB UBETIKO AX CLINTON. 266
orl^nallj ordnred. The people will rise up aod blega the fint nnrserymtn who will «ropb*tlcall7 state tbst undr-r no clroamBtuiDes will he aubstltute one variety for another without the written consent ol caBtomer.
It mar seem nnjust to attack a bnilneag Bo ncoeasaTy lo horticulture, and I am willing to admit that with all the wrong and outrageoiiB humbDgs that are perp»< trated bj and throogh them, tbej do a great deal of good, aod I believe there &re a few coDBcleutlous and taooeflt Dnrserymen. 1 have never counted a ben's teeth, ooDsequently oonld Dot say whether the has more teeth than there are honeet anr- serymen, but will say this : that If she hu not, she will need to go to the dentist and get a set wblle the; are cheap,
Oo out among the people and listen to their tale of woe. Hardly one individ- ual who haB a home but has been la some manner defrauded, many of them shame- fully so, acd tbe time has come when this society Bbould put tbemselves on record ss strongly condemning tbe present methidB used to drssemlnate new varieties of ftalts, and to condemn tbe misrepresentations by overdrawn .colored pUteB or of salesmen, or any system or method thtt takea more from the people than the arti- cle is iatrlnsleslly worth, and this society should recommend tbe paBsage of strln- ^nt laws that would punish such mlsrepreaentatlon or snbstltuttoD, or falsely label- ing any variety by aheavy fine and tmpiiBonmeDt la aggravated oases They should do It to protect the people, and should do it to protect our legitimate nureerymen who hare no wish to wrong any man. and who are being driven out of the buBioeBS by IrresponBlble men, who are usually too far off (o reach by tbe ordinary process
Tou will, perhaps, say that If people would read any one of the many horti- cultural jonraals, they would lioow better, and could not be humbugged so easily. In answer to that, I will say that, if there has been one hombug variety of fruit that has been Introduced Inthe past tweotyflve years, that has not bean advertised In just these Journals, and lied about Just as industriously in their columns as any perambulating tree-dispenser ever did, (hen I fail to remember it. No, you cannot depend on the papers. A man can pay so much for a space, and say about what be pleases In it, and It IB looked on as all perfectly legitimate. Mo, I will tell joa what's the matter. We have been sending too many mIsBlonarlee to the heathen to fumisb a change of diet to the South Sea lalander, and all that, when we needed htm right here among us In the fruit buslneas. What time he could spare from bis labors with the nurserymen and their employes could be profitably spent In super- vising some of our packing of fruit, bo that oocasloaally there would be a choice specimen not on top; and. forthatmatter, hecouldgoalong with tbefriiit, andon the trip he oonld labor with tbe railroads and their employes — the one for more reason- able rates, and more careful handling on the part of employes. When fruit 1b turned over to the tender mercies of tbe commission man, then It la time for this miaalon- ary to put in his best licks ; and If there are any means by which be can get help from on high, now is the time to ask fbr it. But I must confeBs that, when It comes to describing ways that are dark and tricks that are vain, as practiced by tbe average commission man, I And myself totally ineapscltated. You can't call them " humbugs ; " tbe name has too soft a sound. And why call them anything ? JuBt as though every man who has shipped any fruit doesn't know all about it, and know that be couldn't express his feelings on the subject without being turned out ol -church. So I trust yon will excnse me for so slight a mention of the commission man, the most gigantic humbug in the whole buslnesi.
Recitation, MIbs Addie Doyle, of CliDton, was very sdmirably rendered.
STATE HOETICULTURAL BOCIBTT.
PEOGBB8S IN PLOBIODLTUEB.
J. M. JORDAN — ST. LOnU.
Afr. Pretitleni and Member* of the Miuouri Stale BorHeuUural Soeietjf -■
Your Beeretar.T Informed me some we«ki ago tbat I was KHlgnad to the dnt^ of telllDft tbe memberB of tbla ooDTentton wbat progreBi hag been made in florlcal- tnre. To tbe wel 1-1 □ formed bortlcalturlat tbia would seem an easf task, for tbey woold ooDsult the reports made b; tbe Agricultural department at Washington, D. C. Bnt flortonltnre has never been honored by any statlittos In any former deoades bat through tbe exertions of some of tbe leading florists, the Cen»ti> bureau IR now making a full report on floriculture to tbe Census department on this Tery Import tant branch of hortlcaltnre. Therefore, all I can do la to show by a few compari- sons tbat have come uoder my own obseivatton wltbln tbe abort period of thirty rears.
In 1860. Boston alone held the proud place )n this country of producing cot floweiB. where a regular supply could be had at all times daring the winter montba. Tbe varieties of flowers were very few, and bnt two kinds of rose*, Softano and Bon Sllene, were all tbe vsrietles grown for cut flowers at tbat time. New York then boasted of one place wbere a floral artist occnpled a store and carried a sup- ply of cut flowprs for sale, bnt now New York has 330 retail stx>res and S3 wholesale dealers wnere flowers can be bought In qnantlttes. Tbe sales of the retail florlsta should average 100 dollars each day, or an aggregate of 23,000 dollars spent for flowers each day by the people of New T: ork City alone ; and what Is trne of New York is true of all tbe cities of this conntry in proportion to tbelr wealth.
In 1369 tbe flrst floral store waa opened in St. Louis where cut flowers werfr kept on sale ready for delivery. Now there are 49 retail and 4 wholesale establlsb- menta where flowers can be had In quantities.
FIfMen years ago flowers were considered to be a luxury in the winter, and only tbe wealthy could sff'ord to psy the price. But now nearly all can enjoy thetr reflnlng influences.
Tbe increased snpply made it a necessity to nee flowers in many ways. Pew are the festive boards that are not decorated with flowers. We sell large qnantltlea of flowers togo Into sick rooms, and the cures wrought by their assooiatlont are wonderful. Many a mind detracted and depressed has taken on new vigor and been restored to health ; many a sad bonsefaold has been comforted and cheered by tbe silent lesson taught by these mesaeiigera of love.
Let us labor for a more general use of flowers on all occasions, believing Id their elevating and refining Influences. By so doing, we will evolve Into that higher civilization go much desired.
After thifl, a Bong by Prof. Hall waa given in bis aanal excelleDt style.
FEDIT CULTtTRB AND ITS INFLDBNCE.
We have all read of a "fruit garden," which carries na back to tbe early days of the history of our race, when the "Lord Qod" plauted a garden, eastward In Bden, andont of tbe ground made fie to grow "every tree that is pkaaaot to th« sight and good fornmit."
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WUITKS MKBTma AT OUJIXOH. 267
We are left to Infer tbat the keeplag of tbla g&rdeti was a pleasant occnpa- tloD ; tbe InbabltantB were not perplexed about tbe kind of soil they ahonld plant apOD — whetber npoo a north, lODth, east or west slope, the kind and variety of trees, vines and plants they thonld chooee, and tbe kind of oultlvatlon and protec- tloD tbey should give tbem.
We Infer fartber that they bad no frosts, no withering winds, no Inteots or germs to destroy their trees or Injure their finlt, no anilety about over-prodno- tlon, supply and demand ; In fact nothing to mar their happiness or cause care for their future welfare, until, while sitting under their own vine and flg tree, listen- ing to tbe melody of birds and rejoicing in tbelr bounteous and glorloae estate, there appeared to them a " frnit agent," with a fine specimen of fruit, In alcohol, magnified by deceptive words, beautified by arte and devlMB, Its color so rich, its odor so sweet and delicious ; what will Its flavor and nectar be f
From aaored history we Infer our first parents and the "finlt agent" ar- ranged a partoei«hlp, wherein eaeh was to have greater power, dominion and hap- ptness, and tbe fmlt seemed to be some kind of exchange whereby the transfer was to beoonao valid.
We, to-day, of tbe iBth centnry, recognize that this fruit agent was a deceiver, that tbe oolorand odor of his fralt covered decay and canker, that his atock was all watered of the gall of bitterness. That beaatlful and prodaotlve garden wae Btraek with ftoets, blight, lnsect-> and destructive germs, and with death, and tbe fruit, withered and bitter, was carried by birds and the winds to the four comers of the earth ; the seed dropped upon fertile and barren places of earth, were by the action or frosts, winds and Insects, covered, and In due time came forth seedlings, thorny bashes, producing soar, bitter. Insipid fruit.
Later it appeared there was a transCer made, and by this transaction they quit-claimed their right to the garden and were moved out, and In tbelr change of location and surroandlnge found themselves beset by the perplexing problem, how can we change these thorny and scrubby trees, bearing fruit not fit to eat. to those beautiful In sppearaoce and bearing fcnit pleasant to the taste, sustaining and 1n- Tlgoiatlng life?
Insects and disease are wasting our trees snd fruit. How can we protect them ? Frosts and elements sting and bite tbe buds or developed fmlts, snd many seasons we are deprived of all.
What can we plant to give a contltued dally and yearly snpply ? Thus they then realized that they would have to struggle with difflcultlea, and then and there was organized tbe first horticultural society, and they started out horticulturists Indeed, and from that day to tbe present hour It has beenthelot of man to be driven to the necessity of toil, constant watcbfalness and care.
Their descendants. Inheriting their tastes and appetites, look up tbe work where their fitheis left off, and each succeeding generation has produced many men and women who have and are giving much thought, work and money to make mankind better and happier. Surely they are pnbllc benefactors, leaving the woiM a great deal better for tbelr living in It.
Tbe cultivation of frnits contributes In no small degree toward enlarging and developing the mind, strengthening the body, creating a fountain of health at our very door, beautifying and making home the dearest place on earth, improving and making all who come under Its influence better.
Beyond the sacred cooflnes of the happy hearth-stone, with Its dear familiar circle, there can be no more pleasani associations than those of the garden and orchard, where, In our tender years, we hHTe aided loved parents, from them taken
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268 STATE HOBTIOULTITBAL BOCIBTT.
th« flnt teecoD la piBnt-aultare.gatheriDgtbelneotonBfralt of tbetr planting or onr own ; nor of tbe rustic arbor In wboM refroablng ahade we have reclined, to rest and meditate nnder Its sheltering canopj of vetdure ; and when we have gathered tbe pnrple berries of the noble vine at a later period of tbe rolling year; nor of tbe oroh&rd. with Its bonnteooa Bupplf of golden and mddf apples, blushing peaches and meltlog pears.
With aooh attractions about our homes, with snob ties to be sundered, ft Is wonderfal sod soarcelr credible tbat ^onth should ever be fnduoed to wander from them Into paths of evil.
The physical as well as the moral qualities of our nature are wonderfblly pro- moted b7 the exercise tr\ilt aOords us—the pleasant excitement, the expectation of tbe first fruit, tbe praise of fellow man, all Inflnenoe, strengthen perseverance and greater endurance, and with these develop a noble man and womanhood .
The fabled fountain of Thygeia has been located In an orchard, where It came from earth that sustained the roots of the tree and vine, shaded by the broDchea of the wide-spreading apple and pear ; approached by allejs that were lined by peaoh trees, laden with downy fruit, and over-arched by vines bearing rich clusters of the lasolons grape ; and they were garniabed at tbeir side by the crimson atrawberry. tbe plnlc gooseberry and crimson currant.
The family wbleb Is at all timefl supplied with delicloas and rettesblng fruit from Its own garden and orchard has within Its reach not only a very Important means of economy, but a real domestic comfort. An Influence is thus created of an exalted character ; a strong teudenoy Is directly exerted toward making home the dearest place on earth, parent?, sisters and brothers, the kindest and dearest of all, each contributing to the other's comfort, pleasure and profit.
What fond memories oome to each of us of our dear old homes ! Let us make our homes as beautlftil, attractive and ennobling as we are able, planting trees, vines and shrubs, that oar children will be so Influenced and directed that they will attain higher enjoyment, greater benetlts, and become noble, useful men and women, We reap of that we sow, and by our fruits we are known.
HOETIOULTUHB IN THE PDBLIC SCHOOLS. R£V, W. F. ARHSTRONO, CUKTOM.
Popular education Is Indeed tbe distlngnlstafng achievement of modern civill-
In it are the patriot's trust for tbe permanency of free Institutions and the philanthropist's hope for the well-being of the race. Of all the Inventions of the, ages, that of universal education Is tbe grandcHIn Its conception, and promisee the most varied and beneficial resnltB. It marks at once the era of free government, the moral development and physical well-belrgof ihehumsnTsce. Bntln nstlona as well as Indlvldnala, there la always a better beyond — a higher and still higher — for thn achievements of tbe ftature. In my opinion, tbe next great educational step is to be an Industrial one. Tbe public schools. In addition to the general training which they furnish, must also ednratespeclally with reference to the fntore vocation of the student. All capital Is the product of labor, and society Itself rests on the broad sbonlders of laboring men and laboring women, [f^l, therefore, that alt efforts to Increase the educational opportonltles of the Industrial classes Is a work In the right direction, and that, In tbe advocacy of the Introdnctton of borttontture as a study Into tbe public schools, I am standing on firm ground, sustained alike by reason and experience. It is objected that the design of education Is mental and
WINTER HBBTINO AT CLinTON. 269
moral Krowth, and that *s mind is snperlor to matter, tad knowlodg« b«tt«T than rlrhea, that system of education ibonld be adopted and that coorsa of stndf pnr* saed whtoh will fill the mind with the greateBt of uMfal Ideas and produce the greatest mental and moral development. This objection oomes from the edncators of yoDth themulvei, and le tn trnth the onlj' one worth a moment's consideration . I accept every word as tmtb, and regard it tn fact as a powerful argnmeot In fkror of the stDd; of the Indnstrial sciences, tt I may so style, in tLe pnbllo schools. If tt Ran be shown tlut the study of the soienees In refbrenoe to and Ulastrative of the indnatrtea is equally as well adaptMl for mental ealtnra and discipline as the stady of them in the abstract, or with no snoh referenoe. then the value of aaoh course as a disclpllnarlaD is eqnal to tliat of the oourse now adopted in tbe schools, if It can be shown that such a coarse Is better adapted for mental training, then the argu- ment preponderates tn Its favor; and In either ease the fact that the student Is thereby the better fitted for life's dattes powerfully reinforces the argument.
" Use strengthens powers," says the good Spnrxhelm, The faotUtles of tbe mind like those of tbe body become active, vigorous and strong, each by its appro- priate exercise. Now, whloh is the most favorable to mental excitement, the study of a science with or without reference to Its practtoal appUeatlon ? In both oases the same formnlsxies and theorems must be studied and demonstrated. In both oases tbe same soientiflc principles must be exemplified by experiment and by facta In nature.
The difference will be that In the study of solenoe with referrnee to Its uses, a greater nninberof experiments will be made and a greater number of hmlllar phe- nomena explained.
HortlenltuTol studies are. therefore, valuable In the foot that they appeal to and teach the reasoning bcnlty during the whole life. The horticulturist employs prac- tically nearly all the physical sciences, and very wldo Is the field of research for the educated fruit-grower. He who opposes such studies as saperficlal la In great danger of proclaiming his own sbaUownesi.
It Is true that the elementary works which must be employed fbr a time at least tn the dlstrlot schools may not contain a great amount of theoretloal science. They will nevertheless contain much of practical and useful knowledge.
Teachers in the rural districts will ontversally attest that one of the obstacles In the way of introdneiug the more thorough sciences Into their schools is the be- lief, too prevalent, that there Is no pnotlcal use In them. But the utility of ftult- growlng as a study Is so apparent that this objection will not be urged, or If urged at all will be easily overcome.
The objection that there are no snitable text-books ean be made only by those not familiar with the literature on horticulture, or the progress which thti cwnpre- benslve science has made. Several very valuable works have been written, aome of which would serve now as excellent text-books In the schools and colleges. Be- aldes. In this as In other things, the demand will bring the supply. Only let the want for saoh text-books be known, and a thousand peas will contest the privilege of supplying tt. Every publishing house will have a new book on fruit-growing, dealcned for tbe use of schools. Their agents will visit the schools, horticultural and agricultural societies, and every one interested at »U will be watted on with dlstingTilshod consideration. Competition will elevate the standard of these norkg, and tbe horticultural text-book will soon equal tn learning, depth and adaptation for the school-rocKD , and in every other excellence, the best works In other depart- menisof education.
Another objection aometlmes urged is the want of qualified teachers. To this It may be answered that the teachersof this State ore an intelligent and enterpriBlng
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'270 STATE HOBTIOULTDBA.L BOOIETT.
«laH of dtlzans. Let tt be estabUshed as a tket that horttoaltore Is to be taagbt In the pabllc acbools, and tbtj will not be slow to add tbie to the list of certified qnal- IflcatioQS to teaoh.
Again, it Is objected tbat tbe pupil does not know wbat bU Aitare TOoatloD Is to be, and eboald therefore edncat« htmself wltboot special refbTenee to say Toca- tlon.
This objection Is not trae In fact. Practically the future calling of the child Is ver; early determined, and whatever theories the rv may be, whatever teachers may -advocate to tbe contrary, the pupil aotnally does educate blmself wltb reference to what he supposes will be his future vocation ; and even the sturdiest opponent to this raovemeotdoeB not stand 10 his own theory. If a boy Is to beeducatedrorolvllengi- neerlng, whatever else he may be taught, he Is certainly trained In mathematics. If lie Is to be a theologian be Is certainly taught Greek aod Hebrew If possible, and care- fully instructed in the opinions of tbe early fathers. And generally, whatever he Intends bis boy to follow, he will, despite bis theories, cause his education to be warped into tbe character of his future pursuit. His general education maybe more extensive, he may lay a larger foundation, than the Htndent of the district school^ hat the fact remains that whatever amonnt of general culture the b oy re- ceives, he Is yet Bpflcialiy edu(;ated for his future life-work.
The State Itself has established a legal department la the State University for the edocatlon of those who may wish to practice ihe law. This, then, being the rule, with hardly an admitted exception, that the child should be educated In refer- «noe to his life occupation, is it Ju8t that those who cannot attend the ifibools of btgher learning should be deprived of its advantages? in the district schools the pupils receive a limited amount of general InstTuotlon, and, In my opinion, the public interests will be greatly subserved by giving also the opportunity of special lostmctlon. It Is urged sgatn that fruit culture is so extensive a subject that it will be dIflScult to know what amount of knowledge is neeessary to fit one to teatdi. Properly considered, this objection admits away some of tbe others that are sometimes pertinaciously urged. If the tabjecl Is this extensive, the pupil who masters It will have the general education so often set np in opposition to special education, and the argument bo plansibly urged that It is better t« mske a man of the student than a farmer, or mechanic, or lawyer, or doctor, or preacher, flnds Itself completely answered in the above objection stated. It might not be aston- ishing If even those who use thla plan Bible sophism should be compelled to recog- nize In the student who bad mastered tbe bortlcultural soieoces a man, or mayhap a woman. In the highest and noblest sense of the word.
But is the extent of the science an objection to Its study in the schools? People do not reason so foolishly on other subjects. Who has been able to tell where tbe science of astronomy, chemistry or mathematics ends? Tbu sciences In general, like their great anthor, are Inflnlte Tbe profonndest philosopher has not tbe wisdom, nor even tbe shallowest pedant the aSBurance, to prescribe bounds to them ; hut do we on this account exclude them from the schools? The amoaot of knowledge necessary to teach horticulture will regulate itself just as with the other sciences. It is not necessary or required tbat one should tio a t^lUimau or a Draper to teach cbemlBtry, or a Lyell or Miller to teaoh geology ; neither is it necessary that one Bhould be a Llebig or Downing to teach the science of fruit-growing; thoogh lu this, as in other subjects, the more knowledge one pofseisei, other tilings being equal, the l>etter teacher he will be.
In the several Eclencos, as taught in the scboolB, certain text-Ixnks have been preparKl. Precisely so will it be wltb horiicultuie, and the teaclier wilt be required to pass a reasonably good examination on tbe subjects therein treated .
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WIMTBE MKKTING AT OLINTON. 271
As on other labjeots, wtaftterer experience, obaerratloD or other reading may add, will only Increase the gnallfloatloDB to teach. Obiervatlon, InveBtlgation, dte- flusiloD woald, frooi year to year, add to the teacher's knowledge, and correepond. tngly elevate the standard or qaallflcatloD. The knowledge which would have •eoaced a oertlBoate to teach Engllih grammar ten years ago might not enable an applicant to paM matter to day. Ttali, too, would be progreanlon, and tbe standard «r qualification would be fixed to afiob on adjastable >cale as always to meet the publio demands.
One other objection and 1 will close this part of the argument, wblcli 1 fear U already too tedious. TbU Is the vague, 111-deflned, tometlmee wise, sometimes foolish objection always ready agaiOBt any innovation : It is said to be Impraotl- cable. But why Impraotloable ? if the introduction of fruit culture as a study in tbe public schools will result in undoubted good to tbe Blate, far lurpaailng all the addlllouai coats and looonTculences. this progressive, utilitarian, go-ahead age will demand other evidences of impraotlblllty than that of merely looking wise and ominously shaking the bead. Befbre tbe single power of ntlUty these flimsy ot>< Jeetlons will be swept away, and we shall live not only to see horticulture, but tbe solenoea llluatrattve of all the Indnstrlea, taught in the pnbllo schools.
Id that good time comlDg labor will t>e honored, and laboring men and laboring women will take their places in public opinion, as they are now in fact, the teat aristocracy of the Htate.
There was a time, not long ago, when book horticulture or edentlflo forming was the standing Jeat or farmers. It was looked upon aa a piece of pedantry set up in opposttioo to experience. And It must be confessed that many were the men with heads full of theories and poeliy of the country, whose great proraiBes and great failures gave point to tbe general Joke.
If Indeed i were compelled to ohooie between theory without experience and experlenoe without theory, 1 should unhesitatingly take the latter, coattdently expecting routine, with habits of industry and strong muscle, to win the race ; for the fruit-grower needs educated muscle as well as educated bialn, and hablta of Industry as well as habits of thought. Ho one should t>e foolish enough to suppose that theory ot itself can produce great crops, it is theory applied— a skillful hand guided by a wise head — that must aocoinplisb results. The science of borti- calture— a phrase used fttr oonveoience—it is not one but many sciences, or such parts aa relate to and explain the practical operation of the fruit farm.
Hortlcnlture, aa a business. Is by universal consent one of tbe oldest of human purvulta. it dates back to £den, and "'tis said was the bait of Eve." Congress bat made valuable donations in connection with general agrioultore for tbe purpose of having this science taught. Its otUlty aa a collegiate study Is admitted while it li denied that it may be Introduoed Into schools of lower grade. You may teach It in colleges, bnt not In township schools. 1 cannot conceive of a proposition more aophlstically absurd. Not more than one farmer's son In a thousand takea a col- legiate coarse of atody, and of those who do, the number Is very small who return to tbe farm. I agree, however, that tbe introduction of a course of horticultaral Btadle* win [greatly increase the number of farmers' boys who enter college, as well as the number of those who, after having graduated, wilt return to rural par- snlts.
Bnt after making a liberal allowance for this. It mast Btlll always be true that only a very small per cent of the whole people can ever have tbe benefits of a col- legiate education. Whatever of horticulture is taught to the grest mass of the people must be tanght in tbe commiin schools. A few wealthy men will be able
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272 BTATB HOETICUHJBAL SOCiaTTT.
to Hnd their oblldren to the colleges, a few young men of great energy will work their way throagh the collegiate course, but the large majority. naleK it can bft taught tn ecboolB or lower grade, will be oompelled to forego the advantaget of hortloultnral Inatruotlon entirely. The whole people ehoold be educated In the knowledge ahd buBtaest of practicftl life. Bj denying the Introdaotlon of hortloal- teral science Into the dlBlrtot and towasUlp sohoolB, tbote will be deprived of It who moat need Its advantages.
The farmer tills and growl fnilte on his own land. Bte hoya take tbe place of hired help and cannot well be spared from home. Tbe district and township achoola are their only op porta n I ties, and we should make these opportonlties eqnal to their wants. To say that fruit culture shall be taught, and yet not taugbt In thote schools, Is to deny the teaching of It when It can be the most beoeflclal. The hired man is capable of doing better service by having this kind of education. Be aocutnalates means, and oltitnately falmaelf becomes the owner of land and in hla tarn the employer of others. In order that thia science be vftlnable to tbe people, it mnst be taught where the people can have access to It.
The question of nttllty properly stands at the threshold of every enterprise. Wbat use ? On tbe proper answer to this question will depend the Anal saeoeas of that, this and every other movement. We live In a utilitarian age ; we are a utili- tarian people ; and In the widest seaee of this mutdi-abuMd word I confeu lo the title of atllltarlan. Utility Is the motive power that gives force to enteri^lee and overcomes the Inertia of popular Indifferenoe. By It let us test the present move- ment, and let Its fate be decided by tbe answer to the question, for what good? Tbe flr^t, most manifest benefit srlstng from hortlcoltunil education will be the in- crease of these products.
As already stated, the fruit farmer applies practically important prlnolpleaof science. Tbst to order to apply these correctly It Is necessary to ucderstand them, is a proposition that needs no argument. When the ftnlt farmer plows and plants, he changes the mechanical and chemical eoodltlOD of the sotl. When he plants and cultivates, he Is making a beautiful experiment in organic chemlstrr. He la alto applying the principles of physiology and byi^ene, and finally all kinds ot work in and on the orcbard require, In order that It be done at tbe rigbt time and In the proper manner, praotloal knowledge, as well as practical skill.
All these should be taught In the schod books ; tbe best methods explained and the reasons for them. The efi'ect will be to fbrm early habits of thought, and to cause knowledge and Judgment to take the place of routine.
We should expect to find, as Is tbe ftiot, that In those sections and oountrtea where fruit-culture Is better understood and better applied, a oorresponding Increase of these products. Great crops of anything are not accidents. The laws of nature are nnlform. In fruit culture, as tn ether things, the same causes will always pro- duce the same effects. Wherever exist the necessary conditions, great oropa mnst be produced. To explain what are these conditions — how, at the least cost, to pre- serve them when present, or to produce them when absent— U the legitimate work of horticultural instruction.
I-et us suppose that all the valuable knowledge on this subject contained In hortloultural books and papers, arranged Into convenient and systematic form and published In a series of school books, numbering 1, 3. 3, etc., from easy primary works to those more thoroughly scientific, and that these were made a part of the school course for tbe farmers' boys, what great resnlts might we not reasonably expect f Within the next generation thebortlcultoreof Missouri would take a new form and a hundred per cent be added as the product of ftult caltora. These oon-
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WINTEB UBEIIITG AT OLINTON. 273
ditlona properly met, oar gloiiooa Ulsaonrl would become the Aroadla of tbe United States.
The HiDgle fact of proper nnder-dralnlog for fraiti) alone, the State would be -compentateii more than a huodred fold for all the aoat of teaching hortloultare In the public schools. Edncatlonal Institutions are for the young. The youth should have opportunities to prepare for tbe life battles in which they ore soon to «Dgage. Let the farmers' sons be thoroughly ednoated in the prinoiples of solen- tifie bortlonlture. Let theory and praotloe go hand In hand. While the musoles are being ednoated to babtt and skill in work, let tbe mind be instructed in such knowledge as will make their skill valuable. The year that witnesses the adoption of tbts measure wfU mark the era of improvement, and tbe person of middle age will live to see advantages accruing beyond all calculation.
I do not mean to teaob that the student should give his attention to this subject alone, or to the exclusion of other needed information. I would not shut htm out Arom other sources of knowledge or whatever there may be of refining and human* izing culture. Every child that comes into the world has, by virtue of its humanity, an inalienable right to the growth of its powers, and should have not only daring minority, but through life, the best opportunities for mental and moral outtnre.
With the improvemeut of ftult-growing will come a correspoudlDg Improve- ment in tbe other Industries and of society Itself. Endless, indeed, are tbe collat- eral advantages which would result from this education. Certainly a general io- «reaifl of InteLllgence among the people would of necessity follow. The great re- sulting moral advantages must not be forgotten It has been beautifully said that the laws of nature are tbe "elder word of Ood." The student of horticulture Is tbestadeatof natUT^, and whether studying or applying tbls "elder word of God," he will feel that bn Is ever in the presence of the Invisible but omnipotent Qod, to whom Btady and labor are at once a homage and a prayer.
HOBTIOTTLTUBB AKD HOME LIPB.
BY URS. a. E. DUQAM, SEDALU.
Then li not s ipot on thli wtde-paopleit eaitb
So deal to tbe hsart u tbe land of ooi birth ;
'Tia theboouot onrcblldbood, tbe besntlfal Rpot,
Which mem' ry leUlni when all Flasliftitsot.
Can the langaegs of ntnaKerB, In amenta nnknowu,
Send B Ihiitl to oni beart like that or ooi ownt
The fuw 1DB7 be tall aud theimlle maj be bland.
Bat It bTBithei not the tonea or onr desT native land.
In the sweet saoredness of memory's whitest chamber hang tbe Ineffably beautiful and exquisitely wrought pictures of home. In tbe foreground in the clearest light is always tbe dear, care-crowned face of our mother.
Grouped around the hearthstone are the other members of the family, and we look back wltb glances of love and tenderoeei to oar childhood home. A soft re- flectiva radlancesblneslikeahaloabout the scenes of our earlier years, and when weary with the trials and perplexities of a later existence, involving toll and con- flict. It is restful and comforting to wander back and to dwell once uioro, by the m agio of memory, amid the quiet rural' pleasures which rendered our childhood -cheerful, if not perfectly happy.
H B— 18
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271 BTATB HOBHOULTDBAL SOCIETY.
Associated with oar memory ot home there are alwa^a tbe orcbards. Ueadons may gleam fair and fragrant; the soft sweep of the aouth wind may bend tbe plumed bead! of the timothy and bluegrais; g^reat waves of sunlight and shadow ma; play at blde-ftnd-eeek there as the clouds alternately veil and unveli tbe snu ; but the orchards have a loveliness never attained by tbe meadows, and In all the world there Is no fragrance eo ezqulsllely dainty and refreshing as tbe perfume of the apple blossoms. Lovers dellgbt to linger about the orchards, and all tbe novel- ists choose thU place for their beroee to declare their unaylng affections ; and the maidens wooed beneath the apple-trees are always kind, and not cold, haughty and sarcastic, like those who are won In palaces beneath the unsympathetic glare of brilliant chandeliers.
• Horticulture and home life are indissoluble. Ton cannot disassociate the two. JEvery person who was resred In a country home has enshrined In some qul^t cor- ner of bis heart a favorite apple-tree.
Other t^lts may have left a lingering taste of their lusciousness In bis mouth, and be vaguely recalls that tbe blooms were pink or white, fragrant and pretty ; but with his every sense of remembrance dwells the knowledge that the apple-tree^ were proUllo of fbllage, sheltering him from the fierce rays of the summer sun ; that the clustering blossoms were sweetest of all the offerings of spring-time, and that the fruit was perfection.
What ts home withont fruit trees ?
Charles Lamb has said In one of bis essays of EIIh, *' There are homes which are no homes," and we Invariably think of this trite saying when we pass by d human abode In the country where there are to be seen no orchards.
I sometimes tblnk that the llrst thing our T'nrltaQ ancestors did on landing at Plymouth Rock was Co set out rows of orchards. Right certain am I that in those weird old pioneer days, about which cluster dim ghosts of camp-fires, rude log cabin', and those fierce, red-xklnned creatures who went prnwiing through the dense forests thirsting for blood— that amid all these discouragements and desola- tions, our thoughtful forefathers did not forget to plant fruit trees Jnst as soon as the wilderness yielded a place for them.
'■Homes that are no homes"have no fruit treesaround them. There are no flowers In the door-yards, and the aspect of these places Is unlovely and repellant. On approaching such an abode tbe weary traveler feets a chlU ss he notices the desolation, and be will hesitate to ask shelter there even from a hall'Siorm. Frutta and flowers mark the home-like homes, and thpugh they may be only village places, with grass plats Instead of gardens, along the borders of the tiny lawns will be olMCtved dwarf ffult trees and currant bushes. Even a vegetabie garden may lie Idealized.
The daintiest flowers may twine gracefully about among the tomato vines ;. marigolds may smile along tbe cabbage rows ; about the fruit trees may be benches of pansles and sweet violets, a beautiful union of the poetic and the practical,, delightful to contemplate.
There is just Huch a garden as this In the quaint little city of Washington. Ulssouil, and It is well worth a visit to the place, merely to see how harmoniously flowers and vegetables get along together, and how each assist in glorifying the other.
But we must not be heard for our mdc'h speaking. Is a lesson taught by divine authority, and so 1 will not presume to occupy valuable time, but will ha8t«n to conclude my brief essay, after earnestly entreating all who have so kindly listened to me to plant fi'ult trees-
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WINTBB MBBTINO AT CLINTON. 275
If jtra have neither orchard »pace nor garden spot, let the fragraot and beaatl- ftal dwarf epecimenB of fine fruits adorn jour door-f arda. A pear tree la prettier than a maple ; a oherrj- tree aurpasBea an elm ; an apple tree is better than a box
Hake home so delightful that it shall forever be a hallowed memorj to your children. We pass thla war but once. Let ua leave behind ns, when we. step over the border to the other land, the lienedlctlon of deeds well done. Let ne strive to make the world a little brighter and better for our Jonrnej through it, and let na at all events make sure of a moaumeat that will remind oor frleoda that once we lived and loved, by planting as many fmlt trees as possible.
"Tbs bieei«-lika mnsiawuidertng o'er the boughs, Eaoli tren ■ ustuiil barp— esob dintomt leaf A difftient note, blent In one TUt tbanksglTbis."
Let ns aid to the utmost of oar ability this grand thanksgiving chorus.
HOBTIOULTUBB IN HISSOITBI. BBV. ABBISTROKO.
We have a flne evening. As my sight la not very good. I was a little fearful that I could not read my own paper by gaslight, ao I will apeak off-hacd. [ am getting old, going on seventy-three.
We are living In a great time and In a great coontry— a oonntry of great area, great prodnote, and great people; from Maine with her Iumt>er. to California on the west with her wine and her olive oil ; South Carolina with her negroes and war of races; but greatest of all, with the richest and moat varied products, old Hle- sonrl, with her climate, her soils, ber lead, zino, Iron, coal, her timber, and higher than all, her women and men. That la the subject of my exhoriatlon, and an ez- horter has the privilege of scattering. I have a good deal in my mind, for I have a good deal to do. I should like to say a good deal upon the subject, for it em- braces horticulture, garden. ftuUe and flowers.
UlSBonri is exceeded In the amount of her fruit only by two States, New York and Michigan. This Is owing entirely to their earlier settlement. She will soon outstrip them. Her progress In ten years Is almost incredible— over ten mill- looa of dollars In apples alone this year. Just think of It! When we think of Hts- soorl with ita wide area— and there la not a county In the State poor for apple growing— what shall be the result F There Is hardly any part of the State wbere they cannot grow fruit for home use and for market. Southern Mlssoari is es- pecially suited to the peach.
I took a little run to California once— I am a traveled gentleman . I nave been as Atr as Callfbmla. I saw everything ever seen In Southern California In summer. I bought a few grapes. They were sbout assourgrapea as I ever tasted anywhere. Outside of the raisin grape, Missouri can sarpats CallfOTQla. Southern Missouri lands are cheap. As luscious peaches grow there as anywhere, California not ex- cepted. When people (co to California tbey pay a thousand dollars an acre for land. That does not seem to me to be the right kind of tblog.
Referring to the apple, bow many people in Ulssourl are growing them that ought to? Convince the farmers that an acre of ground will hold forty-eight apple treea, th»t In seven years will produce five bushels of apples pet tree, worth S^.SD per barrel.
There are several aids that MlBscurl requires. Let me name a few : Common sense. The world has more need of good, common sense in this than In any previous generation. Put common sense Into fruit culture and It will
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276 STATE HOBTICTTLTTTBAI. SOOIBTT.
always be sacceBBftil. Proper atteation with common miim will always pa^ In tbii bailneiB I sboald like to tell yoa what I tblnk and hope oan be done la aD orebatd under proper training. Hy Impression Is tbat an orchard trained from Tonr to six feet Crnnka and properly coltlv&ted win yield fnilt tbree times at large and of better color than the loi^ neglected orchard.
t have a few plum trees near a large cistern . The plums are large and perfect: I think It would be a good Idea tor frnlt growers to dig cisterns In their orchards to hold water for dry seaaonB and tor draln&ge In wet seuoos. Finlt oonld be grown under snch cironmstances. Bat I am going to stop. I said at the beginning of this exhortation that 1 was going on 73, bnt I lack a good many years Oi being there.
The State society needs more money to forward her work and to advertise tbe State. Horticulture should be taught in our public schools, so onr children may understand Its principles and practice. Agriculture shonlcl be taught there, too. Text-books would soon come If we wanted them. I am quite sure that when hor- ticulture Is being taught to the children that the whole State will become enthusi- astic. Then will we have orchards that will be an honor to tbe horticnltur«l society and the wonder of tbe world .
C. W. Mortfelt spoke of the caUore sad beauty of flowers — more particularly of the chiysanthemiim as improved of late years. There are more than 100 varieties of this flower. Tbey cau be had for eev- ernl weeks in the late &1I, and are certamly very beautiful.
Amiyag the roBes welt worthy of caltivation he iiamed Madame Charles Wood, Madame Wm. Wood, Geo Jack, Empress of India, Paal Keyrou and the Bride.
THUE3DAY, Drobmber 5, 9 A. M.
At the opening of the session the Secretary presented the follow- ing telegram, which be had sent to tbe varioas State societies now in
session ;
Clintojt. Dec. 3, 189C. The Hissourt State Horticultural Society, now In session at Clinton, sends greetings to her slater society.
L. A. OooDMiN. Secretary.
Sent to the Secretary of Michigan State Horticultural Society, in seesion at Kalamazoo, Mich,
Also to Secretary of Indiana State Horticaltnrat Society, in ses- sion at Indianapolis, Ind.
Also to Secretary of Kansas State Horticnltoral Society, in session at Topeha, Kansas.
The Secretary reported also that he had sent to Mrs. D. B. Hol- man, Spribgfield:
Climtoh, Dec. 3, 1890.
Tbe State Society, now in session, sends sympatby to yon and yonrs and asks news about tbe condition of Bro. Holman.
L. A. OoODUAN, Secretary.
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WIITTSE MEETING AT OLINTOK. 277
The f^lloTiDg telegrams were read in response to those sent on December 3 :
Indianapolis, Inc., Deo. 3. L.A. Goodman, Ctintoti, Mo. 1 t
Th« Indiana Hortlciillural Society, now In aeislon, wnde greeting to her eta- tersoclety. C. M. Hobbb, Secretaiy.
ToPBKA, Kan., Dec.3. L. A . Ooodman, (Pinion, Mo . :
The Kanaa* Horticultural Society gieet yon with kind regards and wishes for the saeoeas of jonr anoaal meeting.
O. C. Bracest, Secretary. Tbe following letters were read:
Hr. J. C. Etaks, Harlem. Ho.:
Dear Sin— Yonr letter of the 8tb IngtantUJast received, and I am glad to hear ttoca yon again, as Is always the case. It wonld be a great pleasure to me to visit yonr Society and have a talk with yoarself and others of my good friends, but this will be impossible for me this time. If yon have anything special In mind relatlTe to my work, either favorable or unfavorable, I shonld like to know It. I feel certain that you have a deep sympathy with the work of this division, so t want the best advice that can be had. in order that I may conduct Ita affairs with discretion and satisfaotion to the fnilt-growers of tbo country. Please be kind enongfa to erprcM to the members of jour Society, at some convenient time dnring the meeting, the sympathy I have with theto, and allow me to r^olce with all of you who raised a big orop of apples this year and got a good price for them.
H. B. Van Duian,
Pomologist.
UusouRi AaniCDLTniiAL Rxfrrihbnt Station, \ Columbia, Boone County, Mo-, November 3B, 1S90. { h. A. Goodman, Esq :
My Diar Sir— I have been absent for two weeks, to attendance upon tbe annual meetings of the representatives of the Agrlcnltural colleges and Experiment stations of the United Slates, and of the American Fat-Stock association, and on my return I found your kind Inyltatlon to attend the annual meetings of Hlssouri Horticultural Society next week, and an annoancemeot of a part assigned me for Thuraday, December 4. 1 had fully intended and expected to be present, but I find that tbe work assigned me by our Executive committee at their meeting this week Is of snob a character that tt will be oat of the question fOr me to be absent at tbe appointed time. I very much regret the fact, as I am very anxious to meet and make the acquaintance of the live men who compose the State Hortlcoltural Society of HtsBonrl.
With beet wishes for a pleasant and profitable meeting. I am
Yours respectfalty,
Edwd. D. Fortbb.
BusBnaiia, Jrpfkrson County. Mo., December 2, 1S90. ii. A. OooDUAK, Esq.. Secretary Mitaouri HbrtieuUural Soeitty, Clinton,Mo.!
DxAR Sir— tt is with sincere regret that I have had to forego the pleasare of being with you at your meeting at CUnton, but I have been unable to get time even to prepare a few notes on tbe subject of vineyards, the Ane weather of this fall hav-
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278 BTAT£ HORTICDLTUBAL SOOIBTr.
Id^ prolonged onr buay season to ka unuanal extent. So I must onoe m^re &«k your kiDd Indulgence for ray sliortoomiiig.
WlBbing thit your meeting may be a sncceaRful one in every reapect, as I know U will be pleassnt for aU wbo attend, I remain
Very trnly youra,
a. E. Mbissnzb.
South St. Lonis, Ho., Dec. 1, 1890. Mr. L. a. Oooduan :
Dbir Sir— I am sorry that I cannot be witb yon at Clinton this week, but my ■eboolandotber buBtneai tbat happens to come this week will keep me at borne.
I have finished one case or those birds and have mounted quite a numt>er far ttaeotberoase, but 1 And It dlfSealt to proonre good speclmena of certain species that are not very abundant and yet of considerable importanoe to the hortlcul-
tOTlBt.
1 am making a careful dissection of all birds I mount, as well as of other spe- otmeng that are not to proper condition for monotlng, so as to be able to give a correct Booonnt of their food In different seasons of the year and dtSerent localities, By the time I get all the birds mounted I will have ready a full account of their habits, distribution, etc., wblch I will plaoe In your bands tor the reports.
I wrote to you some months ago with reference to the beat manner of mount- ing tbe birds, and also for a report of last year, but received no answer or report. Please send me a report as soon as you can.
Beat regards to all my (blends In tbe H. H. S.
Yours respectfully,
H. W. Spkckinq.
Orxoom, Uo., November 37, 1890. L. A. QoonuiM :
DuR Frikkd— I have been waiting to write you for the last week, hoping t could make a favorable report, but now at the last moment I am compelled to write you that owing to my BioknesB I will not be at the meeting or give you a paper. I have had a oarbuooie on back of neck— and if you ever bad the pleasure of tbts lux- ury you know what that meana— then It was followed by a crop of bolls, so I have been sick for two weeks ; was conflned to my bouse for over a week, did not eat or sleep, so was in no oondltion to prepare a paper, and am now so weak 1 can hardly get around. I am very sorry, but I see from the program It la a full one, and 1 will not be mlued much, but I would have liked to meet with you oooe more, but tbe memories of one year ago would detract very much from the pleasure. With best wishes for self and family, I am as ever,
Yours truly,
A. GosuN.
L. A. Goodman, Scervtary Miaaoiiri HbriieitUurai SoeUtj/ :
Uy Dear Sir — Your kind fsvor was awaiting reply on my return after a week's absence.
December 2d to 4th seems to be a favorite date with horticultural societies, no less than six of which In the West aod Northwest have cboaen tbts week tor their annual meetings. Of these I will try to give at least part of a day each to Michigan, Indiana, and possibly Kentucky, taking In Illinois the following week.
WINTBB MBBIIHQ AT CLINTON. 279
I suppose It will not be poBalble to b« at IndlaiiKpolls on tbe 3d and reach your place on the 4th. If such were practicable I would make a great effort to do bo. Very truly yours,
T. T. Lyon.
ORkaoM, H.O., October 34, 1890. Mb. J. G. Evans, Harlem. Ho. :
Dear Sir and Friend— At your request as to my views on Hlssouri making ft fibow of her friilta at the World's fair, I would say that tt wems to me the frutt In- tereet of onr State has become one of aneh magnitude and importance, amoanting to nearly fifteen inlUlonB of dollars annnally, that It should be a matter of State pride to make a grand display of Missouri ftults at the World's fair, and do it In such a way and manner as will place Hiasonrl , where she of right belongs. In the front rank as a fruit-growing Slate. In order to do this properly and to make sac- cess sure, preparations must be made very soon. We shontd commence next anm- mer to pot up in glass jars specimen fruits, and also organize all onr ooanUes and get them into shape for effective work. Of course, snefa a display as I have In my mtod win cost a large amount of money and bard work. We can get our societies to do a great deal for tbe honor of the State and the good of the cause In the way of work, bat we will need at least twenty thousand dollars In cash to carry the work tnrongh in a Satisfactory manner. For this we can only appeal to onr State for an appropriation, and I have faith enough In our Legislature to believe that if we will only present our cause to them fairly and on Us true merits, they will respond to ourreqaest. But some no doubt will ask, why fahonid the State asstit •nch an enterprise ? And how and In what way will she be repaid for so doing ? I answer, by the more speedy development of this growing Industry, which should be ten-fbld what It la at present. The show of fnilt we contemplate would attract the attention and win the admiration of visitors from all parts of the world, and adver- tise HIsBoorl as the ftuit garden of the world. In this way we will not only induce imm1gration,!.bnt will draw a class that will make desirable citizens, as fruit' growers must own their lands, and hence, are tax-payers. In fact, we have such an amount of desirable and very cheap fruit land In this State that It is my honest opinion that the twenty thousand dollars given by the State to make this show would in the ten years following be returned ten-fold to the State treasury by In- creased taxable property. Then it will add largely to the internal trade and pros- perity of our State. It would open up employment fOr thousands. It would add much to the prosperity and happiness of onr people, while the elevating and refin- ing influence upon onr people by the development of this great industry could not be computed by dollars and cents. I am so impressed with the importance of mak- ing onr fmit display so it will be a grand success and reflect credit on onr great State, that I would suggest and urge you to wait on our worthy Governor and present this matter In its true light, and ask his assistance 'and co-operation in securing such legislation as we may need . 1 feel sure he Is a man of progressive views, but in his ofBctal capacity, his duties are certainly too numerous for blm to notice in detail all of the many great interests of our great and glorious State.
KespectfuUy yours,
N. F. MuEtRAT.
InvitatioDR were preaented for places of holding the next meeting. InvitationB for the next meeting were received ftom Carrollton, Sedalia, St. Joseph and Kirkeville.
.y Google
280 STATE HORTIODLTnOAL SOOIBTT.
L. T. Kirk— lu behalf of the Pettis Gouoty Society, I iavite the society to come to Sedalia. The county court has offered ng the use of the conrt-hoase, one of the best and most commodions in the State. We would like to show yoa the great city that has grown np there in the center of the State in the last few years.
K. F. Murray — There is a newly organized society at St Joe, and they desire me to invite this Society to meet in that city. I think we coald do a great deal of good there in the way of aiding and encour- aging them. The large and fine coart-honse we can have for the meet- ing, with rooms for the several committees. St. Joe annaally packs ttom 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of apples. It is the center of a great frait garden.
Ohas. Patterson — I feel free to invite the Society to meet at Kirks- ville. Too have never met in that section of the State. We have the same advantages as a frnit-growing coantry as well as the western part of the State.
Mr, Armstrong — I shoold be opposed to meeting in a large city like St. Lonis or Kansas City. Tbey have too mach to do and no time to attend or entertain this Society. Sach a place as Clinton or Sedalia woald be mach better.
Mr. The gentleman is mistaken in thinking that the citi- zens of St. Joe do not take any interest in the meeting of this Society. We have a local society there and wonld he glad to welcome yon. We have fourteen railroads, making it easy of access from all pacts of the State.
President Evans — We all know we can not have a snocessfol meet- ing in a large city. Yon are mistaken, Mr. Armstrong: St. Joe is not a large city.
Mr. Mnrtfeldt — I wonld be glad to go to St. Joe. Sedalia is also a good place for a meeting, bat I think it is too close to Clinton. We don't want to stay too long in the same place.
The place for the next meeting was left to the selection of the Executive committee.
[It was decided to hold the semiannoal meeting at St. Joseph on June 2, 3 and i, 1891, and the thirty-foaith annual meeting at Sedalia on December 1, 2 and 3, 1891.— Sec'y.]
The following resolution was presented and adopted, and the sec- retary ordered to notify the Commissioner- General of our wishes :
Faolved, Thftt the HliBoari State Horticultural Society, In ttB 3M »e»8ton aSHm- bled, belteveB tt will be to tbe belt Intereita or horticulture In the United SUtes that Mr. Parker Earle be placed Id the char^ of all matters appertalnlog to horti- cultunl exhibit at the Colniublaa exposition of Chicago in IBOi and 1893.
D.:inz^;;K«^,V_;0'
<g\e
WINTBB MBBTina AT CLINTON.
SECRETARY'S REPORT.
Mr. Pretident and Members of the Missouri State BorUoultural Sooiety
and Friffndg;
For one-tbird of a oentary hae the Society been meetio); in annnal seesions. Tbirty-tfaree years ago the Society wae organized for the same parpoee that we now meet together. Some of the members of that first organization are still engaged id the same work. What these thirty-three years have done for Miseoari we can ail see in the growth of grand cities where there were none, in the opening of farms wbere there was nothing but wild prairie and timber, so that to-day we are over 300,000 strong farmers at work on oar rich soils.
These thirty-three years have seen pat upon Missonri soils over 8,000 miles of railroads; they have seen a thonHand cities grow ap and prosper in the Hi connties of the State ; mines opened, the richest in the world, of lead, zinc, iron and coal; some of the finest qnanies of stone that can be foand anywhere. These years have seen the rich lands of Missouri coyered with the finest farms in our whole coantrj ; the best horses, mules, cattle, sheep, hogs, poultry grown anywhere in the whole United States. Instead of going outside of the State for our stock, to-day we see the other States coming to as for their fine stock, and to-day thousands of carloads are annnally shipped to other lands.
These thirty-three years have seen the. Stale increase from a few thousands of people, until now we have nearly three millions, and room for many millions more. Onr fruit interests have grown from a few growers, and a few orchards, and a few fruit farms, and a few interested people, until now we have over 20,000 farms wholly devoted to horti- cnltnre, and 100,000 people wholly engaged in horticiultoral work, and more than another 100,000 partly devoted to this work.
Then there was no demand for qnantities of fruit, and every farmer had bat to plant the trees and gather the fruit. The trees seem to grow almost spontaneonsly and to bear abundantly. A few thousands of bushels of apples would supply the market, while now it takes millions of bushels.
To-day we have orchards which singly produce more than whole connties wonld then, and to-day we find that our fruit crop is worth over $10,000,000 to our state. Today we see orchards sell for $6,000, $8,000, $12,000, and up to as high as $100 and $150 per acre for the
282 BTATB HOETICULTURAL SOCIKTT.
apples alone. To-day we find the apple crop of the State worth millions of dollars. The small frait plantations have grown as well, and now we see a ten, twenty, forty or eighty aorea wholly devoted to small fhiit-growing.
In vegetable gardening, in floricaltare, in seed-growing, in nursery growing, in roadside and yard-planting, in parks and cemeteries, in the stadyof the insect life, onr fiends and enemies, in the study of botany, of the rnsts and mildews, in our agrioaltural colleges, in our experiment stations, in onr horticnltaral press, in the reports of our State societies, in the experiences of onr workers, In every avenue of study and thoaght, of experiment and experience, of practice and preaching, we find a wonderfnl development in the last thirty-three years.
If we have anything to be proad of, after being proad of our State, it is to be proad of the development of borticultare, nntil now we have avenues leading in all directions and open ways for any to foUov , as well as great work still to do, and great studies still to be entered into, and great problems still to be solved.
So, then, meeting here, dear friends, we do bo, as no idlers in this world of work or atady ; we are no laggards in this onward rush and push of the age. We hare plenty to do, and are doing it with a will and a way which means success. We have plenty of stady and inves- tigatiou and experiment, and are following it witb the utmost zeal and energy, which means success. We are lovers of the work and tbe study, and expect to follow it to its final success.
We are trying to systematize all our efforts in the different lines of onr work, and are accomplishing better work and more profitable.
The florist has separated his work from tbe vegetable grower, or the fmit-grower, or the nurseryman, or the seed-grower, or the land- scape gardener.
The nurseryman is a nursery grower; tbe ftuit man is a small fruit grower, an orchardist, or a vineyardist, or all together, but leaves off tbe nursery, the greenhouse or the vegetable grower. Each part or department of this great work is being put in its proper cfaanQel, and we find this a day of specialists.
There is enough for any man to learn in any one department of this work to engage the interest and attention of any one who wishes to enter in upon it. When once yon begin the stndy or the practice of horticulture, yon will find fields open up before you so broad that yon will never fear of rnnning across or exploring tbe whole of it, but yon will begin to wonder how it is that there is so much to do and so much to learn.
And then the capabilities of our State and the needs of horticnl- tare — can I begin to toncb npon them T
WINTBB MBBTIKG AT CLINTON. 283
Either of these sabjects wonld reqaire a paper by itself. The hill and blntf laads all along the Miasoari river are the locatioDs for our orchards. From the Qorth lioe of the State to the aonth line there are thooBands of locations for the best frait farms in the coantry. 'There are openings near thonaands of our towns for good small f^ait planta- tions, or good florists, or good small narseries.
Special varietiee for special locations is the secret of snocess^ frait-growing. In every part of the State study yoor market and what it demanda. If they want some early apples, plant them. If cherries are wanted plant them. If an early-mataring winter or late foil apple is wanted, plant them. If peaches are demanded, plant them, always having in view the special adaptation of yonr soil and climate to what yoQ plant. If the market wants strawberries, plant them. If raspber- ries or blackberries are in demand, plant them, keeping always in view the demand and supply, and the adaptability of your special fmits. If good'keeping winter apples are called for and yon are far from market, plant them, and plant them in quantities large enough to be an induce- ment for the buyers to come to yon for them.
The capabilities and possibilities of the State will fulfill every de- mand made upon them in the location, soil, climate, market, varieties, and soccess is sure if intelligently followed.
The needs of horticulture are too many but to enamerate here. They embrace the needs of the orchardist, the gardener, the tree phtuter, the yard deoorator, the florist, the seed-grower, the nureery- man, the forester, the landscape gardener, the botanist, the entomolo- gist, the geologist, the ornithologist.
The needs of horticulture are to show our advantages, our possi- bilities, our saccesses. We need more knowledge, closer communica- tion with each other, more business-like methods, more instraction from our scientists, more study, better work, more intelligent use of the opportunities given ns. We want to know how to feed and how to breed oar froits, so that we may know something of the results.
We need new blood in our work. Every time I go out through the State I find some good worker who should be with us in heart and body, both for his success and oars, as well as the benefit of the State. We need the assistance of every true horticulturist all over the State in this work. There are hundreds or thousands of good, earnest workers and enthaaiostio students who ahould let their light shine for the good of the State.
Above all, we need the lovers of the work and the cause. ' If a lover of the profession like Brother Miller, we will let other people know what we are doing and what can be done — not all of as like him
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_)'
Sle
281 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL SOOIBITT.
in writing ao mnch, for we are Dot so handy with the pen, bat we can tell it tcom word of moath, and it will help others.
The work of the Society for the past year has been one of improve- ment^Dd eneoaraRement. We have now twenty-seven hortioaltara) Bocieties in different parts of the State, and some of them are doing' good work for the members iodividnally, and the society collectively, and the State work continnally. In the followine eottnties there are societies formed : Adair, Atchison, Barry, Bates, Barton, Bacbanan, Bntler, Camden, Oooper, Greene, Henry, Holt (2), Howell (2), Jasper (2)^ La&yette, Laclede, Linn, Mercer, Montgomery, Pettis, Polk, Phelps^ Bipley, Vernon, Missonri Valley Hortionltaral society, Kansas Oity. Many of these are helping themselves and their connty far beyond what they have any idea, possibly.
Yon will not find the weIl>posted members of any of onr local societies compliuuiug that they kaew nothing of the prices of apples this fall, and consequently losing hnndreds of dollars by their neglect. I shall instance two sach complaints, which came to me a few days ago, by snch persons, who never can afford a dollar for their society, or for papers either, probably. One complained that all the apple-bnyers were- swindlers, becanee he sold his orchard to one for t30O, and it tnmed ont that the man packed 900 barrels of apples. He lost only about $1,500 — that is all — on that one deal.
Another reported that a buyer was a rascal becanse he came and represented the great snrplns crop there was all over the State, and that apples woald be very low this year. He sold his apples, gathered in piles on the groand, at 50 cents per barrel, and now is growling that on the 600 barrels he lost over $1,000.
Do yoQ want stronger proofs of the benefit of organization and in keeping posted in all onr matters 1 1 hope to see 60, 70 or 80 good,. live horticnltnral societies in oor State, and we will not only do onr State good and onr connty good, bat will make for onrselves money.
From last Jnly I have been receiving letters from ftait-bayere,. evaporator men, cider men all over our coantry, yorth. South, East and West, "Where shall I go to get plenty of good packing applesT*^ ** Where can I get apples enough to pay me for pntting up an evapora- tor I" "Where can I get 100,000 bushels of cider apples T" "I want 160,000 barrels of apples ; where can I get them t " "I want nine car- loads of apples; where shall I got" "No apples in Western New York; I must have some to supply my customers; where can I get them t how is Missouri off for apples I " " Our apple crop is a failure here in Michigan ; how is it in Missouri 1 " " Northern Ohio will have a very short crop of apples ; what can Missoori do ! "
u Google
, WINTBB MBBTINO AT OLlIfTON. 285
And BO on to the end. I really believe that there were looate.d in the State hattdreds of bnyers of apples ftom iDformation seat ont by the State Society, and that haodreds of thonsandB of dollars were saved to onr &nit men by encoaraging and locating so many frnit-bayers in the State.
The report for 1SS9, although late in its appearance, has been "well received, and is auxioasly called for. The call for oar volume is 80 great that next year we should have onr edition increased to at least 4,000 copies. We could then supply moie of onr own State also with the report, as well as send to other State libraries, societies and fntit- powers.
The report begun by Miss Murtfeldt has been highly complimented Aud called for, and we should by all means have the same continued in «ach year's issue until completed. This is just the work we should do for the information and instruction of onr people in entomology, and I hope to see the good beginning go on to a good completion.
The World's Fair sbonld demand onr attention and earnest begin- ning of the work for a complete display of horticaltaral products of the State.
Onr Society should prepare a lot of large, fine jars for the showing of fruits, and they should be put np next summer as a test of what ahonld btf done, and then added to as we tind we are able to do during the next two years.
We are in hopes that the wishes of the States, expressed at Chi- cago last August, be complied with, and that borticnltnre be given a department by itself^ and that Parker Earle be made its chief. A strong vote on these points by the State Horticaltaral Societies this -winter woald have an influence in deciding the matter with the commta- wonera.
I think that the State aociety of this State should take the work of making the hortlcnltnral part of the displ^ for onr State. With the assistance of all onr local societies and all our borticaltarista, we think that Misaouri would stand in the lead in the show of fhiita. It seems to me that a display made something like the one in St. Lonis, by connties, would be most jnst to all concerned and give the State as a whole as good a display as can possibly be made, and then each county would get their proper credit.
It does seem to me that such display should be made by the States, and that no premiums should be given, but each strive to do its best, and leave the judgment of the displays to the people as a whole. Every State should pay for its own work and displays, and thus leave off these petty jealousies and troablea which so often arise ttom com-
28S BTATE HOBTICULTUBAL SOCIETY
petitive exhibitions. If each State wonld pay enooffh to do the work well and no preminniB offered, each wonld be put oa ita State pride to do its very best, and leave the judf^ent to the body of people and passers by.
Our State shoiild appropriate at least $10,000 for the department of horticoltnre, and not leave ns like they did at New Orleaoa, witboat a dollar to work with, while others had as high as 97,000 for horticul- ture alooe.
Onr State is fost becomiiig noted as a fhiit State, and $10,000 is little enough to represent this State in all the departments of faorti- cnltnre as we nuderstand it.
FEUIT-GEOWIHG.
Some plain, simple directions in ftrait-growing from the strawberry np to the pear are being called forth often by the citizens of oar State. Ofttlmes I will receive a full letter with a dozen or more qaestions to answer, when to answer them satisfactorily would take a half day's writing, and I find it impossible to do it. I think a little pamphlet with instructions to beginners on the different fi-aits would be something which would reach the mass of onr people better tht^i in any other way. How it is best to do this and who shall do it will be a matter of disenssion. It seems to me that some one who has made a specialty of the different lines of work should be chosen to do that part which they coald do best — strawberry to one, raspberry and blackberry to another, grapes to another, cherry and plum to a fourth, peaches to the fifth person, currants and gooseberries and quinces to another, apples to a seventh, pears to the eighth person, nnt trees to the next one, yard planting to the tenth. By this plan we would get the best in each department, and it would be of great value to every beginner.
If we do not do this now, I shall arrange the subjects for oar next annual meeting in such a plan, and use the papers thus presented and discussions on them for the purpose here stated.
OUB WOEK.
Of one thing I shall always be proud, and that is the State of Mis- souri. There has not been a year since I entered the State in 1867 but that I have planted hundreds and often thousands of trees each year In oar orchards. It has been our aim to prove to onr people that we have a grand fruit Slate, not only by showing its advantages, but by planting and planting, and it has been oar province to be one who has planted the largest and finest orchard to be found in any part of the western country, down on the Ozark mount^ns, where we now have 50,000 peach trees, 20,000 apple trees, 5,000 other trees, and 40 acres
WIKTBB MBBTIWa AT CLINTON 287
ID berries. We hope to prove to the people of thia and other States by our works that we have one of the best States in the Union.
It has been onr province, since being Secretary of this Society, to assist and indace more planting of apple orchards than asnally falls to the lot of man ; and to-day those who planted only wish that I had made them plant more.
Oar work has grown and grown, until now its inflaence is being felt Id every State of the Union ; and I speak the tratb, soberly and in earnest, when I say that no other State has a better State Society or more earnest workers than has Missoari ; and, with the nnity and sym- pathy of feeling, all palling together, nnited and strong, we shall step npou a higher plane of asefnlness ; and we say now, as we said to yon at the beginning of oar work in 1883, that, if we were united in onr efforts, we had no fear of saccess.
There are grand possibilitiee before ns yet> and it is my ambition that onr Society attain the highest point. I have three great plans and snbjects in my mind which I am asing every effort of my make-up to do all that is in my power to do in reaching the end desired.
Tbe first is my daty to God in matters pertaining to His kingdom ; the second is the advancement of the interest of horticnltnre in onr State, and the third is education.
Horticaltare in oar own State is my ambition, and not in others. I am proad of Missoari, and want other people to know what we have oat here, so that when indaoements come to me from other places or national organizations, I give only one answer: "I am for Missoari, and have plenty of room to work here." And that is what I told tbe Americat) Horticaltaral Society, at its meeting in Texas, when they wanted me to beeome secretary of that society. I cannot ; there is too mnch work in Missoari.
When I look back over the work which we have accomplished in the last half-dozen years, I am delighted to see oar progress ; bat when looking ahead at the work to be done, progress seems slow. Bat we have every reason to be proud of the work and the opportunity offered ; and, with a united effort and as one man, working with a will, our end will be attained, and we have uo fears of the result.
OUR EBPOET.
On November 27 I visited Jefferson City, tbe Commissioners of Public Printing and the State Printers. I am happy to state that I have secured the order for oar priuting to be done at once, and work will be begun on it this week. Z have sent the report of the June meeting to them, aud in a few days after this meeting I will have in readi- ness the report of this meeting, and we hope for once in our history
288 STATE HOBTIODLTDBAI, SOCIBIY.
that we shall have oar report ready for distribntioa soon after the first of January, 1891.
The report for last year has received a great number of favorable notices, and is being callect for to soeh an extent that tJte edition is nearly exhausted.
THB HISTOBY OP OVB. SOOIBTY
For its thirty'three years I consider of much interest and value for the future. In looking up this matter I find that the Society has very few of the old reports. If any member has any of them in duplicate or any which he will part with, Z wish be would send them to me, for we are ansioas to get a complete set in duplicate.
We are wanting reporU of 1859, 1860, 1861, 1862, 1863, 1864, 1865, 1868, 1869, 1872, 1873, 1877, 1878 and 1882. If you have any or know where any of these can be obtained, we shoald be thankful indeed.
The History of the Society, by F. A. Sampson, of Sedalia, and G. W. Murtfeldt, of Kirkwood, will give yon the &ct6 and a list of the re- ports pablished. We owe to them many thanks for their painstaking researches.
THB BOOIBTY LIBEABT
Has been increased according to the recommendation made one year agO) by the purchase of eighty of the best works on horticoltare Ut be found in the land. We shall be glad indeed when we can have snch a location and complete library as is now foand in some of oar eastern libraries. We have now lists of reports firom most of onr State socie- ties for a nnmber of years back, and it is my aim to secure as com- plete a set of reports trom each State as can be had. These of them, selves would be quite a library, and if completed, as I now hope, I hope to be able at our next meeting to give yon a rather complete list of all the States. Our own report is now being called for and sets, especially from so many libraries, that I find myself unable to fill them.
Shaw's School of Botany is going to be, and in fact now is, one of the great educators in oar work. By a wise provision scholarships were ' provided for a number of young men and a six years' course provided for them. They are under the charge of the bead gardener and are ad- vanced to different work as they become competent. They are paid the first year $200, the second year $250 and the third year and after $300, together with a convenient lodging house. It was our good pleas- ure to meet with the director of the garden, the head gardener and some of the trustees last October, and learn much more of the work- ings and the value of the plan laid out.
ly Google
WINTBR MBKTING AT CLINTON. 289
The Society has two yoang men in the icbool, the nephew of onr Vice-President, and the son of friend Nelson.
Two scholarships are given to onr Society, and we shall see that they are always full. It is possible that there will be another place vacant next year, and if 80, we mast see that it is filled.
The best wishes of yonr Seoretary will always be the portion which belongs to this Society, and with the same united effort in the fntore as in the past, we have no fears of onr snccess. Beapectfolly,
L. A. Goodman, Secretary.
Somt of the u»t» vK put the mimes °f the SooUty to Jor th» bmefitof ourStaie.
1. Organizing local societies (oouatj).
3. Frnlt BUtiatioeforobardB, etxt.)
3. Nom«Dolatare and new fruiti.
4. Entomology andorolthotogy.
5. lojurions fnogi.
6. Frnit shows and delegates to sister sooteties.
7. A grand Missouri frait show, b; coantles, at the World's fair.
8. AdTerttse oar poiiibilltlee (for growers).
9. Advertise our fruits (for bnjeit}.
10. Oeneral promotion of b<«ttoaltiire.
11. TraniportatloD (B. R. and oars). 13. AoDDal and semi-annual meetings.
13. Hold county Instltates with State Board of Agrloultnre.
14. Dissemination of all this informatiOQ.
IB. Ornamentation of pnbllo grounds and school yards.
15. The general apbailding of the eanse of bortloaltare.
atCXKIAXY.
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STATE HOBTIODLTUSAL 80CIBTT.
REPORT OF TEBASUREK.
Tbe TreftHorer, D. S. Holman, being y«ry alck, probttbly apon bla death b«d, tbe Seoretarj reported tUat be bad none of the bills wbloh had beea paid, bat could gi\t tbe amouDt of warrants drawn since tbe last report of tbe Treaaurer at Poplar Bluft, In Jnne, 1B9D.
June?.. Balance on band as per report
JulyS.. Warrant No. 153— map for report.. Ang. 6. Warrant No. 155— library booki... Ang. 30
Aug. 30 Warrant No. 167— Tribune Printing Co.. . Sept. 22 Warrant No. 1S9— binding 1,000 reports..
Oct.;.- Warrant No. 160-P. O. bill
Oct. 10. Warrant No. lei—P 0. bill
Total
Balance
. $«8» aa
sao 00
107 OO'
as ooj
167 75
.:$«7 63
At this meeting there will be a good atKoy bills to be paid which are oiiaallf settled ap at the meetings Rfter being referred to the Finance committee, which I am sorry to say I am not able to give, because they are all fn tbe hands ot the Treasurer. Ar soon after this meeting as possible 1 will see the Treasurer and get tbe bills, and refer to our iinanoe oommlttee.
StCRBTARY .
ELBCTION OF OPPIOBES.
By motion, tbe rales were etiBpended and the eutire corps of offl- cerB were reelected by special ballot.
WORK OP THE SOCIETY.
Secretary Goodman — I want Bnggestions from tbe, members as to what we oagbt to do to better onr condition and accomplish tbe work we have to do. We want all tbe help we can get.
Mr. Lamb— I don't believe I liave taken np any of yoar time, bnt I will aay a few words now. We want information in regard to the amoant of tbe different f^its prodnced in each coanty of tbe State. What county prodaces the most applesi which tbe moBt strawberriest which the most grapes 1 I move that we have a committee appointed to get np a plan to get at frait i*tatistic8.
WINTKB HKEXma AT OLINTOK. 291
Levi Ohabbnck — It is part of the basinees of the State Board of AnpioDltnre to gather etatigtics of agricnltiire, which inclodea horti- «Tiltnre. I want to get the Legislature to pass an act reqairiog the county aBBeseoFB to list tbevacree and the prodnct of each and every kind of &rm crop and every kind of ^uit, and send the lists to the State Board of Agrioaltnre, and there yon will have all the data. It IB snccesefuUy dtfbe in Ohio and other states. If this Society will lend its aid, it will help us to get such a law passed.
Mr. Lamb — The snggestion of Mr. Ohabbnck may help as in years to come, bat I don't believe it will help us now — for the next meeting.
Mr. Patterson — I often get requests for such information ; but I feel wholly incompetent to express any opinion even, in the absence of any definite information. I hope we wUl not hesitate to give Mr. Chnbback the assistance he requires.
Secretary Goodman— To get the desired information costs a good deal of money, and the Society cannot afford to do it. Before you want the statistics next year the Legislature will have met, and if we «an get them to pans such a law we can get the statistics for next year. If they refuse, then we can try to do somethiug. I have tried the plan of sending out cards with utter failure. Such incomplete reports as I have been able to get do little or no good.
Mr. Blake— The State Board can do bat little with $3,000. Ulinois gives $25,000 for institutes alone, and $100,000 to the State Board, and $5,000 to tJie State Horticaltnral Society. We are far behind. We mast capture the Legislature. We mast get them by prayer or by force
Mr. Lamb's motion wae put to a vote and lost.
THE WOBLD'S pair.
Mr. Hartzell — This Society oaght to have $25,000 to make an ex- hibit of the horticnltaral products at the World's fair.
BEPOBT OF GOMMITTBE.
Ur. PsBStDBErr : Your Committee on World's Pair resolDtiona would enbmlt tbe following :
Wrbbsib, the bortloultur&l intereats of the State of MImouiI as now developed, amonDtloK to over ten mtllloDS of dollars anauallr, and not exoelled bf any other one product of the farm ; and
WsMitKAS, if properly enconraged would very soon double tn value; aod
WtfKitiAS, the beaeflts derived from horticulture are general in cbaracter, as all are benefited directly or ladlreotly; and
Whbreah, a display of our horticultural prodncts at the World Palrin 1893 that win do Justice to our great State, which now ranks third la fruit products, will be attended with a great amount of work and expense ; therefore be it
by Google
392 BTATK HOETIOULTTJBAL SOCIETY.
£moIi>e(J, by the State HortlDultarftl Society in sestlon mswmbled at Clinton, Mo., tbat we ask of onr Legtslatare an appropriation of S2S,{X)0 to l>e plaoed nnder the oontrol of the State Uorttculturst Society; 2nd, be it further
Jiaohed, that we recognlie the great importance of the great agrlonltaral la- tereatB of our State, anoh as llTe-stocb, dairy, cerAla. etc; that we appoint a com- mittee of onr State Hortlenltnral Society to oonfer with the State Board of Agrlcol- tnre in the near fhture, to formulate a plan and work In harmony to secure libera) appropriations to make the dISiBrent displays. • N. F. Udrbat,
A.. Nelsor, Hbnrt Speir. DIB0UB8ION.
0. C. Bell — I eecoDd the motion to adopt the reeolations, and want the amonnt left at $26,000.
The reBoIatioQ aeking for $25,000 was adopted.
0. C. Bell — I sappoae it will be the dnty of the Governor to ap- point a commisBion in ebarj^e of that fand in case it efaoald be allowed. This cammiasion should consist of our practical horticaltnrists of thia State, and not of politiciane, I think we shonid designate the mem- bers of the commission. We know better than the Qovemor who- woald salt as.
C. M. Stark — I move that the ofHcers of the Society be recom- mended as the officers in charge of the fond.
Mr. Blake — Let ns go alow, boys ; let as get the money first.
Mr. Speer— We might defeat onr object by asking too much.
Secretary Goodman— I hope we will be careful. Let ns not ask for too mach. I am satisfied we can have enongh inflnenoe with the Goveniorto have him appoint good men. Let ns go at it with » vim.
Mr. TTpton — T think if the State society gets that money, it goes to- the treasurer.
Mr. Bell — I desire to ask for information. In that reeolntion wfr ask for $26,000 ; is that money to be granted to this Society t
Mr. Murray — That is the way the resolations reads.
President Evans — I know that Governor Francis will pnt the light men in the right place.
Mr. Oano — I have a motion to offer. It will come in place if we- are to make an exhibit. I move that we have one handred flint gtas» jars of ft-ait pnt np for the benefit of onr exhibit at the World's Fair. Carried.
LANDSCAPE QABDENINa.
Mr. Kessler exhibited a plan for the improvement of the grounds of the MisBoari Yalley college at Marshal), Mo.
Secretary Goodman — The grounds embrace thirty acres, lying beaatifnlly on a ridge, and have nothing on them. They asked us ta
WIKTBE MBBTING AT OLIHTON. 293
prepare plaos for the improTetnent of the groandg, aa ve did at SprlDg- field. We do this as a part of oar missionary woik. We aek for Kifts of trees to plant the grounds.
Mr. Keseler — We plant closely at first. We onght to have some «f the best native trees, deoidaoos and evergreen, that do best in this climate.
A voice — Bnssian innlberryt [Langhter.]
Mr. Kessler — We can use a large number, or we can do with a smaller nomber. Aboct 1,000 are needed in the groands, and 140 street trees of one or two kinds.
The following list of donations was seemed :
J . C. Etbda, Htrlem, IIM treeB.
L. A. Ooodman, Weetport, 100 treea.
A. Ambroae, Nevada, 100 trees.
E. A. Barohart, ClIntoD, 100 trees.
C. I. BobardB, Butler, 100 trees.
J. bagby & Son, New HaTen, 100 trees.
Holloway A Speer, Butler, 100 trees.
Stark Nnrsery Co., Louisiana, 100 decldaona trees.
Stark NuTsery Co., Louisiana, 100 evergreen trees.
J. T. Stewart, Blackburn, -26 evergreens.
Cbas. Patterson, KlrksvUIe. 100 trees.
a. H. Sbepard, Lamonte, 100 trees.
M. L. BoDbam, ClintOD, 100 trees.
Blatr Bros., Kansas City, 100 trees.
J. vr. Turner, Headvllte, fiO trees.
C. M. Stark — I move that a donation for Baird coUege be in order.
Secretary Ooodman — If Baird college will put theii grounds in the hands of the State Society, and allow them to be laid out right, we will do it. We don't wish to send the college 500 trees and tell them to plant th«m out helter-skelter. Let ns lay ont the grounds oareMly, and then plant.
Mr. Chnbbnck — The grounds of Kidder institute have never been planted according to Mr. Kerns' plans. Some of the tTustees asked me to put the matter before yon. 1 would suggest that any Barplns at Marshall be sent to Kidder,
Much good might be done to encourage landscape gardening by planting the grounds of rtulroad statious. The roads would in many cases pay for the trees if plans and suggestions for the work were fur- nished. If this Society bad the money, I think it would pay a landscape gardener (500 or $1,000 to visit the stations and make plans for their planting.
.y Google
STATE HOBTICULTtmAX SOCIETT.
BBBBIE8 IH HOBTH HIS80UBI.
BY J. N. HBNIPBB, ORKON.
Secretary L. A. Gooduan :
Dbak 8ib— 1 received your call for a paper to be prepared for tbe State meeting-. I aappose It toqM be entirely ont of the regular order of thtnga far me to decline, as It seems to be generally nnderatood that to be loyal to the bortienltural rraternlly we mnrt always be ready to answer when called to tell all we know, and cheerfnlly to divide all our good things among tbe brotberbood, and sorely I must not be tbo exception to so good a rnle aa this, thongb tbe tssk be bard.
There has been lo much said and written abont tbe great fralt belt of Central and Southern Hlssonrl that one wonld naturally Infer that we were Just a llttlo beyond the limit of guccesifol fruit growing. Well, while we do most heartily congratulate oar brethren sooth of as in their world-wide and well-deserved repn- tatlon as having a fine ft'nit country, yet nntil facts aod figures cbsnge, we most modestly decline to admit that there t» a belt anywhere In Mltsourl or anywhere else better adapted to successful fruit-growing than North Hiesourl. Let tbis snf- flee on the subject of fruits In general, as the subject assigned me was "Berrlee in Morth Hluonrl."
That our soil and climate is exceUent for the production of berries may be seen In tbe Atct that wild berries grow in great abundance wbere they have not becD destroyed to make room for something better. Hundreds of bosbeln of wild black- berries were sold and shipped annually from one station alone in Holt county. But that Is a thing of the past.
When the writer planted his first berry patch, consisting of one sore of Wil- son's Albany, Triompb DeOand and Jncunda strawberry, one acre of Doollttle aod some wild raspberries, and one acre of Lawton and Kittatlnny blackberries, be was hooted at by most all who chanced to hear of It ; and later, wben a thonsand eacli of Crescent strawberry, Gregg raspberry and Snyder blackberry, which cost $113, were added to the patch, the whole nelghlMrbor'd whispered " crank," planting snch costly berry plants when the market Is already full of wild berries.
Two years later and the three-acre berry patch netted as mncb as the 80-aorfl term bad done previously, which bad been poorly cultivated for want of proper teams and tools. The demand fbr berries and plants Increased, acre was added to acre; many other "cranks" also planted berries. Eighteen years have iwssed and berries are grown all over tbe country.
While we estimate the last crop short one-half, there were shipped from my shipping point alone about twenty-tlve hundred crates, beside handreds of crates that were sold on the grounds or delivered to customers by wagon ; and to-day the demand for both berries and plants is as great If not greater than ever before. People are Jnst learning that berries are not only a Inxury hut a staple article of food, possessing just the acids necessary tor our physical condltlou after living so long a time on salt and dry food ; for berries contribute as much toward good health as powders and pUts, and are not only cheaper but easier taken.
When we consider the growing North sad West, the strcBni of Immigration pouring Into North Ulssourl, Iowa, Nebraska and Kansas, that a much larger per cent of our population are finding homes In tbe towns and cities, where they be- come consumers, the rapid growth of our towns and cities, the Increased railroad or transportation faotUtles, the advantage of canneries and evaporators, by which gluts in the markets may be avoided, and our surplns, canned or evaporated.
WINTER MEETING AT OLINTOM. 296
maybe shipped by frelitbt to dlat&nt markeU where berrlee oannot be grown— with all theM facts before ua who can estimate the magnltade of thla brancb of In- dustry In tbe next eighteen years ? When with oar experience In growing, hand- ling and marketing the f^alt, onr Improved varieties of all kinds of small fraits, the anperloT packages and cheap lands of North Uissourl Is certainly a gaarantee that the iterry bustoess !□ North Missouri must beoomean Immense Industry, that will give remnnerative employment toeveryldle man, woman and child who Is able and willing to work.
We coIUvate the blackberry, dewberry, raspberry, strawberry, servlceberry, gooseberry and ourrant In all their varieties. The huckleberry alone persists In de- manding Its native wild, uncultivated, rocky hillside, where its Bballow creeping roots are kept moist and cool by the shade and fallen leavesoftreeeand other brnsb. Onr berry crop last season was cnt short about one-half by late Troet und hall- Btonat, followed by a most distressing drouth, which leaves us at this writing witb a very abort, inferior plant growth lor the 'Oomlng eeaeoa ; yet we hope the hvor< able open fkll will so recuperate theplant roots that the spring growth will be bet- ter than the present appeuaooes indicate. All go loto winter quarters well ma- tured.
Give North Hisaonri the next Jane meeting and come and see, taste and be- lieve that North Hissonri Is equal to the best in the production of berries.
BBEET-GEOWIHG IN SOUTH MISSOtlEI.
I hardly know Just how to oommenoe on the subject assigned me In any otDer way than by giving my own experience as a small fruit-grower In Southwest His- sonri. I purchased aforty-acre tract of timbered land near the city of Nevada, in the fall of 1SS3, paying thirty dollars per acre. This astonished the natives: thirty dollars per acre for land that was thought to be almost worthless. They said sev- eral men bad starved out and left the country, that had tried to make a living on It. There were twenty acres of the tract under cultivation, and about one hundred bearing apple and peach trees on the tract. The following winter I commenced to improve the cnltlvated portion of it by haallng barn-yard moDure . The follow- iDgspiing I set out eon strawberry plants and 6(H) raspberry plants. This was my first experience, having never seen a atrawberry patch in my life, except wild ones, and my means was Just about as limited as my experience, labor being my only capital, having two sons large enough to do most of the hard labor. To be brief, will say that we gave onr plants ordinary care the following sammer, and by fall we bad raised enough plants to set ont one and a half acre ; the followtDg spring one acre more. We obtained excellent results during the berry season ; sold all of onrcrop In onr home market. I also set out four acres more raspberries, irouhegan and Oregg mostly, and they grew finely and produced a fine crop the next season . So we still kept oD increasing our plantation, so that during the season of 1888 we sold from about five and one-half acres of strawberries and eleven acres of raspber- ries $3,480 worth of fruit ; had for our net retarng about #2,500. after paying for box material and picking. We were sttll encouraged to press onward, and have foand the buatoess profitable with the exception of the season jnst past. And as every strawberry-grower's experience has been aboat the same,! will not relate my own. Bnt we have Increased onr plantation now to eighty acres — seventy-five of this being in berries— thirty -six seres In strawberries, twenty-fOur acres In rasp- berries, and fourteen acres set to blackberries.
... v^.wO'
<gk
2W STATB HOETICULTTIEAL 800IBTT.
We faftr« gtran our pluitatlon tba psBt Mason good oaro. We have a field of twenty-five aorsB of BtFawboTrleB tbat not an armfnl or weeds or grass of any Mitd oonld be found Id tt ; have also ftbont one and a half acre set to plums, and aver 3,000 other ftnlt trees on tblrtj-slz acres of the berry field. OnraoU is sandy, graT- elly loam, all of It being timber land, on quite ft high elevation for onr part of the country. Now I will say to those engaged In the business that It requires a good deal ot saDd (Id the oraw) for any one to be enoonraged to stick to tbe bnsluest after such a disastroas season as the one Just past, but I think the prospeeta are enooor- aging for the next seasoD. Onr planto are all looking finely. Hany plantations all over the oonntry have been neglected, and i have nottoed some fields have been I^owed ander. Although I do not attribute tbe low prices obtained the past Ma- son was caused by an over production, but the oondltion in which our berries reached tbe markets.
I will not say anytbing Id tbis paper as to onr mode of cultivation or planting. Now as to the adaptation of our soils for producing fine fruit and In paying qoan- tltles, HIsBonrrs reputation isireachlng out all over the oountry as being one of the finest hortlcultnial States In the Union. From my own observations and experi- ence, aod after traveliog over dlfi'erent sections of the country, from the PacUlo slope to the Atlaotlc coast, from Dakota to Sonthern Florida and Texas, having visited many of the largest strawberry plantations In Sontbem Hlssisslppl, I think Missouri can safely challenge tbe world as a fmlt-growfng country.
1 think the problem fbr the fruit-grower to solve Is transportation. This Is becoming to be a great question to solve. Many of yon remember that during the past year tbat a large nnmber of our smalt fruit-growers organised « frult-giow- ers' and shippers' association, and made arrangements to ship In car lots, using the Thomas refrigerator car. I notice in reading over the Secretary's report that tbe society shipped thlrty-olne car-loads of berries — all of them strawberries with one or two exceptions— 18,658 orates of twenty-four quarts each, or 463,699 boxes. These were all shipped In car lots. These berries were shipped fhim Nevada, Carthage, 3arcoxle, Lamar, Liberal and Golden City. 1 notice that he conclndes by saylnj; tbat they realized 66 cents per crate net on an average; but I go on down and find a lit- tle Item of an expense account paid to the offlcers for looking after this business, stencils, etc., of $640, leaving tbe average oet price of about 63 oeots per crate. How I presume the experience learned through the losses sustained by this asso- ciation may be worth something to tbe frnltgrower In general. We shipped our fmit by express with one exception. We were induced to ship one shipment of raspberries, 6o crates, In tbe refrigerator oar attached to a regular freight traio, to Omaha, Nebraska, and our net returns were GO cents per orate. At the snme time we shipped twenty crates by express (soft berries) to Kansas City and received {3.37 per orate. I was told by the manager of tbe car that If our berries were sound when placed In the car that tbey would be sound If taken out In seventeen days. This Is what led me totry the experiment. What next i
BEBBTE5 IN 1880 AT BLUFFTON, MO.
BlUOEL MEU-Ht.
7^ Strawberry. — As this U about the first lo ripen In the season, and perhaps the most popular and useful of all the berries, It deserves special mention .
The number of varieties were but few this year ; therefore, this report Is not as extensive as might be expected from one who le looked upon as a regular straw- berry grower.
WINTRB UBBTina AT OLIMTON. 297
The first TJpe Btrawbenr wu a Cretcent, altliongb Hlobel'a Early and 8chn«ll'B Early are on my gToiind ; but as tb« Hlcbel were plants reoelved last rail add small plants at that, they had do chance, and SchaeH's were In too crowded a mass to oome oot as early as tbey otherwiu ml^ht have done.
Crescent, (JapUln Jack. Bnbacb and Warfleld No. 3, that bad b«en established, bore fine orops.
Stayman's No. 1 did nobly, and this berry, I believe, has come to stay.
Among the newer tmes, snch as Enreka, Mrs. Cleveland, Ohio, Centennial, Townsend'aNo. SandNo 7, all showed np well; bat the beantlfal and ezoel lent Eureka satfered with the drouth more than any other one. Perfection, Comet, IfUler trom La. and Cload, did not scqnlt tfaemselvea to snlt me. Haverland and Payne were splendid. To test some of the almost forgotten varieties along with the new onea, I procured last spring Harvey, Big Bob, Pineapple, and tbey gave ■ne some fine berries. Hoffman I mast not forget ; it promtsea well.
In a test bed I set out last spring Payne, Blla, Pineapple, Hotnoan, Harvey, Big Bob, several Nos. of Thompson's, Van Deman, Bessie, Begins Noe. 1 and 3, Bloh'a Seedlings, Gen. Patnam (In Sept.) last. All these were well cultivated, and each variety allowed to make six plants, which were set out in a new place in Angatt and September ; all of which look as If they might show fmlt In perfection.
In addition to these, six plants each of qnlte a host of varieties were set the past Ail, all of whtoh may give ftrult to taste next season, bat of course cannot show off to any adrantage, among which are Stephens' AJabaroa, Jefferson and some others, thirteen seedlings of our own, some of which look promising. All brid, there are about 100 varieties. If apared until 18S3, these will all have an equal ebtnoe, and out of the multitnde there shoald be something good.
None of these please me so far better than Van Deman, which will not be let out jet, I understand, Bnt it must be remembered that only about one dozen of those set out last spring bore fruit, so that we cannot judge of the merits of the othen.
I almost forgot Vem, a splendid large one.
Some will think sod may say: What Is all tbls fbr? The answer U that some one ought to test them, whether there Is money In it or not, and aa the making of more money than Is necessary to keep myself and fltmily comfortably has never yet fallen to my lot, why should I refuse to try thisf particularly when men send me their new seedlings from all parte of the country, even from the Pacific coast, to test for them, what can I doT Not throw them away, surely. Some have gone so fiu as to say that they have more confidence In my report than tbey expect from the experimental stations.
How this will turn ont time will tell. Some of the earliest are planted on a alopa on the south eide of the lofty ollA, while the latest ones, such as Oanily and Memphis, are on the north slope of a bill. This will show bow long the straw- berry season ean be prolonged,
Raspberria —Centennial, Hopkins, Mammoth Cluster and Gregg are my choice black orops ; Turner, Thwack, Cnthbert and Shaffer's Colossal for red ones ; Caro- line and Golden Queen for white, although the latter has not yet fruited with me.
Btadifema.— Snyder, Triumph, Taylor, Stone's Hardy, Freed,ETleaud Mlnne- wsska are all good and worthy of cultivation .
OoDMtcrriu.— Houghton, Downing and Orange are the only ones 1 hav<i. They 4o well, but SB they nanally go by the board, I pay but little attention to them. fVhen we have plenty of other berries no one seems to care about them.
CkiTTonto,— Red Dutch and Whitti Grape are my main crop. Fay's Prolific I got some years ago, but they don't stand the hot summer, and they were all loet.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
z98 8TATB HORTIOTJLTnEAL 80CIBTT.
Lut Bprlng another lot waa planted, and we wIR give tbeni aootber trial. Cran- dall's Large Black la also planted, bat trom appearanctB I don't expect mnota from tt.
I><ic£«TTM.— Lncretia, as a trailer, fa the be«t I have tried — early, large In afze, good Id qualftf and bears well; but they are BQch rampant growers that It takes work to keep tbem within bounds. I tie the fruiting vines to stakes so the fruit la easily gathered.
TA«J>u)(ir/5'«rvteeierTy.—TbIa splendid little fmlt deserves inor« attentioa than It has received. Tbej come In early, can be planted like currants, and bear full ^vtry year. The rrnlt is about the size of onr medium wild ones.
In conclnelon, 1 will say that the farmer who has do berries, and an abnndance ot them, la behind the times, and don't live as It Is Intended be should.
These very men who say tt Is too small a matter to bother with have eome- tblng small In their estimation of the good things of this world.
DISCDSSIOK.
Sam. Miller— From my earlist recollectioD, aiace I knew aoything, my fotber bad aQ abaDdance of fruit. A man with sacb aarroaDdingB Id childhood is a bom borticolturist, and I bope to die one.
Mr. Helvero, of Arkansas — I am acqufunted with the bietory of Michel's Early strawberry from tbe first. It bas proven for four years one of tbe best known in that section of coantry, and by all odds tbe earliest. Id 1889 it was shipped to Bt. Loais from Arkaasas as early as April 15, tea or twelve days earlier tban the Crescent. From two and one-fourtb acres tSOO worth of frnit was sold before the Crescent began to ponr into market. From the same patch $1,300 were realized in fruit, and after picking, Mr. Michel sold two-tbirds interest in tbe two and one-fourth acres for $2,000.
Mr. Tnmer — Aronnd Fort Smith and Van Buren it seems to be a very vigorons grower, yet not too thick. It is earlier than Crescent, of suf- ficient size, and productive as lar as tried. They think they have tbe thing in the way of an early berry. Every man should get it at once. We don't look for any berry to succeed everywhere, bat we believe this to be worthy of trial. The plants sell from $2.60 per hnndred to as low as $1 per hundred.
J. C. Evans — I am glad to know that the Michel's Early la doing so well. I said to our people two years ago that I believed it waa tbe coming berry. I saw it two years in its native country, and thonght that with all its good qualities it wonid come to the ^ont.
Mr. Helvem — I oonid write ap its history for your next report, but that would be too late for next spring planting.
Hoffman is early and fine, but not prolific.
During the last season — a dry one — Michel's Early grew and set twice as thick in the row as the Crescent. Reports from Kentucky and Nebraska all speak well of it. It has only two faults: it is rather
WINTBB MBBTIHa AT CLINTON. 299
pale, not red enongh, bnt it comes so early that it is salable. The first crate of eizteeu qnarts sold for $5.35. It is also rather soft — not softer than the Crescent. It should be picked early before the son is warm. There is very little complaint on that gronnd. I can secare plants for $2.50 per thonsand ft'om reliable men. They have been sold for firom $5 to $10 per Ibonsand. It has a perfect flower, and can be planted aloQC. I have known ten acres of it planted withoat other kinds, and never saw an imperfect berry in the patch.
Mr. Ambrose — All the good varieties should be known, bat I don't believe any grower shoald plant ten acres of it. It may do well and it may not. Some powers a few years ago planted the Jessie largely — resnlting in failure. One grower planted 12,000 plants of it on the strength of what he had read. He made a mistake.
Mr. Logan — I never go very mnch on these new varieties as they come oat. I thought I coald rely on Mr. Helvem, so I set a few plants in November, and I expect to set 30,000 or 40,000 in the spring.
Jacob Faith — I have abont seventy-five kinds of strawberries. None promise better than Michel's iSarly. Tbat is all I can say.
J. O. Kinder— Judge Miller spoke of raspberries six inches aronnd. Wonld not that be a good kind to send out T
Sam. Miller — I meant strawberries.
G. W. Hopkinds — I woald like to know how to escape the rnst od raspberries.
Henry Speer — I, too, wonld like to know Bomething of the rasp- berry cane rast.
J. W. Clark — It is a rast of the cane and leaves tbat sncks the juices of the plant and stops its growth. The Bordeaux mistnre is being tried for the disease, bnt when in the plant there is very little nee to fight it. The department at Washington gives no remedy. The Bordeax mixture, so far as it is effective, is only a preventive of this disease. I shonid spray before the leaves start in the spring. Spores are lodged anywhere and everywhere. Wherever they happen to light there they are. If the conditions are favorable they will grow when the heat and moisture are snfflcient. Yoa must flgbt it before it gets into the plant. Stop its germination before the leaves start.
Mr. Speer — My fiist observation of the raspberry rust was at West Plains. When I went home I looked for it. 1 found that it had affected my plants and injured the crop of the year before. During the summer the canes will be spotted. When bad it will go clear around the cane and kill it, and the berries will dry up prematurely. I have no donbt that in many cases of winter-killing the damage was done by the rust the summer before.
SOO STATE HOBTIOULTURAI, SOOIBTY.
J. M. dark — The black raspberry and tbe red raspberry have no red dust on them, bat it ia tbe same rnst that injores the blackberry,
Mr. Oano — My obeerration ia that it commencea about the last uf May or the first of Jane as a little spot. Then the bark appears to borat. The cane never makes a ffood growth after that. I have never seen it on the cane of the second year's growth.
Mr. Hopkins — I have seen it on the old cane. I have seen them spotted clear to the gronad. It comes first on the new cane. It is entirely different from the old blackberry rnst. It does not affect the leaves.
Mr. Hartzell — An acconnt of the troable and the remedy was pnb- lished in the "Boral World" of iN'ovember 13. The whole caase of the troable is tbe want of moisture.
Mr, Hopkins — It is worse in a wet season.
Mr, Hartzell — Too much moisture is worse than too littie.
Mr. Olark — Some have said that this mat wae canaed by not stir- ring the groand. Onr patch was stirred every few daya, but the mat was there right along. It ia cansed by a little plant that works like the grape-rot.
Mr. Hartzell — It never harts the cane when there ia a good growth.
Mr. Pollard — The Shaffer is one of the strongest growers, and it is the most injured.
President Evans — The discnesion seems to ran more upon Aingi than npon small fraits.
Mr. Kinder — The more fangi the smaller the f^ait,
BBBBT CROP OF 1890 FOB DOtFQLAB COUNTY, EAKSAB.
BKFOBTXD BY B. f. 8UITH, LAWBBHCB, EAB.
Tbi> hkB been k verr busy year wltb me. I gfttbered tbe iBrgeet orop of berrlea I ever raised. Uf a trawberiy- picking began on May 3u, ending with blaokberrteB thelast of July. Owing to tbe extreme drontb continuing throagb June and July, raspberrlea and blaekberrleH were aerloualy tojored . But uotwlttiBtandlDg tbe long droatb, my crop of all kinds of berries rounded up above 4S,000 quarts, 40,000 of whiob were strawberries. This erop in Douglas county was the largest berry crop In Its record. Almost every blossom produced a perfect berry. We had tbe longest berry season ever known In Kansas, liBtlng,_as It Jld, thirty-two days. Uwlng to the favorable weather for ripening, the crop waa abundant ; In fact, the supply greatly exceeded the demand. The overplns was due In part to there being less than one week's difference between the ripening season of Southwest Missouri, Southern EauBas points and Lawrence Prices ruled lower than ever before In our oounty. Our Western markets, which heretoforehad returned remunerative prices, were so glatt«d that the consignments of our large berry-growers brought them In debt, while others received hardly enongb to pay for crates and picking. Hence, our strawberry •farmer friends are becoming somewhat discouraged over future possibilities. Again, when we]read that in all the Eastern and Middle States large
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WIHTBR UEETIIfG AT CLINTON. 301
berrj-growsTB receive from ten to Qfteen cents per qaui for thslr entire crop, tt ia Btill more dlBooimglDff when we remember ttut some of as came Wwt feua ago, where we espeoted better prloea for our fralts than we had received in our Baatera
The leesoo of the leason teaches as that tt Is do longer worth while seeking Western locations fbr profitable herry-growlng, and that It Is better to contlnne the baeineu near the more densely popnlated distrlou of the East.
NOTir ON VABIBTIBB
Captain Jaek—Thlt grand old variety led the van for italpping a long distance. For three weeks in saoceaslon I shipped Ita Iwrrtes to Albnqoerqne, N. U.- -1,100 milei from Lawrence. Mo other berry stood the wear and tear so well as this one. Many growers think Its berries too small, bat give me the berry that sells for the most money In a distant market, regardless of Its size.
Creaeent—Thle sort, as asoal, prodaoed a large crop of berries, but the market being glutted with them, and prices too low for any profit, we gave the plcken all tbey would take away and left the balance tor the blids and bees, while we picked firmer and better berries for the markets. When the Crescent Is aI>ont half gone the rest of the crop U of no valne for shipping purposes. In fact. It Is, all through the season, a hindrance to the sale of good berries, and the sooner berry-growers drop It from their list of Aommerulal berries, the sooner will the markets of the country become more active, and growers will make more money on the less pro- ductive varieties.
fiuiacA— This berry was a surprise and wonder to all who saw it on my grounds, but my oommlielon merchant In Denver wrote me to "stop shipping those large, soft berries, and send more of the Captain Jack or other sorts that could be resblpped to the mouDtalns."
Jusi«— This much- advertised Wisoonsln Uammoth berry is not as large as the Illinois Babach, but Its fiavor has not been sorpassed by any of the newer varieties.
Burt — If any of our friends have the pure Burt, they have the genuine Captain Jack, and vice serta.
AficAe^rhls Is the earliest of all my fifty vartelles. We picked the first itpe berries of the Michel t«n days before the Crescent was ripe. Its berries are not of the mammoth order, but large enough for an early sort. It Is flilrly; productive, and win be retained until an earlier variety Is brought out.
Cloud Seedlitiff — Am real sorry that I am unable to say a good word for this Mlsaissippi wonder. In all my twenty-flve .years* experience I never was so disap- pointed In any new strawberry. Onr Southern blends sent It North with a blow equal to a Kansas cyclone, claiming it to be earlier than the Crescent fay at least a week ; but with me It Is not as early. On the poor, thin soils of the South It may have been a success.
PintappU — A real dead-twat. In fact. I have destroyed several of my own seedlings that fere ten times more productive.
Peart — The plant Is a good. Strong grower, and while Its berries are not as large as those of some other sorts, they are firmer than the Crescent, Miner or Downing.
Haverland — The many visitors who were dally on my grounds looking after 'the behavior of the newer varieties were loud tn their praise of this variety. It Is nearly ae large as the Bubaoh, but Its berries must be tenderly handled befbre and while being shipped to market,
WarfUld—Bta a long future before tt, and wilt stand shipment, it is as prth- ducllve as the Creseeot and more attractive to the eye.
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9v2 BiAiE hubtioultuba:^. sooiett.
Qandy — & flue, valuable berry for Kanua. I have fralted It for two yeara, aud ■hall ooDtlnne It, aa It ootnea tn after many other eortB are out of tbe way. The plant la a atrong grower, aDd Is at home in our rich, black goll.
Now I have a host of old worthy aorta that you all know. I mean the Down- ing, Miner, ManoheBter, Olendale, Ut. Vernon, Hay King, and others that need no Introdnctlon. Then I have a boat of wortblesa new varieties se&t from tbe east, where It 1b snppoBed all the good things oome tiom. Their acquaintance will do yon DO good. These are the Jewel, Gold, Dutter, Itaaea, Belmont, Mammoth, Monmonlh, and othere ;iol worth the writing of their names.
I carry several varieties In my list, partly for comparison with good aorta, as well aa for patrons who are often behind the times by waltlag to purohan at lower prices.
BABPBaRBlIB.
Tbe raspberry crops were less satisfactory In product than they were last year. While It was too wet then, this season was too dry. Beirlea, however, were firmer, and stood tbe racket of transit ; and prices were better than they were last year.
BeAaniar o/eoi'ie^iu.— For earllneaB and prodnctlveneas the Boubegan Is first. However, It la not giving the satisfaction It did a few yeara ago. The cane growth Is becoming more spindling, while Its fruit is not so large. In fact, some of its friends are loalng confidence In It, and they are looking for an early variety tbat has more vitality. The Qregg is likewise growing less productive, while Its cane growth 1« not aa large as formerly. The old McCormIck, Miami, Smith's Iron-clad, and even flopktut, are not the berries they were eight or ten years ago. Hence It is advisable that we, aa berry growera, be on the alert for varletleB of black caps that will stand tbe extremes of our seasons and return ns value for labor bestowed <in their growth.
The red varieties, Cuthbert, Thwack and Brandywine, seem to be as vlgorona In growth of bush and product as formerly. Likewise the Sbaffer, which is neither blade nor red, bnt purple, SEIII holds Its own In vigor of growth. The hult, how- ever, is too tender for dlstaat shipments.
In the race among the blackberries for a long llfb, the Snyder and Taylor are In the lead. These two varieties ore as strong and vlgorona as they were In the beginning. While there are other sorts whose fruit Is larger, their eanes are fUll of disease, made so, probably, by cold winters. Hence the experience among berry growers Is in favor of the Snyder for the first plaoe, and the Taylor next in the race. The Eariy Harvest Is too small and too early, coming as tt does, along with the Sonhegan raspberry. Stone's Hardy is but little larger than the Early Harveat, the only merit In It being Its continuing a few days after the Snyder has gone.
There is more anxiety among email fruit-growers for Improvement In the rasp- terry and blackberry than there is on the strawberry. We haveat least a dozen profitable market varieties of the strawberry, while we have only two or three of blackberries.
There Is, therelore, an inviting field open to the finder or producer of a few good raspberries, and for at least half a dozen good blackberries.
TUTINQ »EW TBUITS.
Every season new varieties of all kinds of fruit are ofifered tor sale, and, usn- «lly, at high prices. I do not bite, however, at every new thing advertised ; bat
WINTBB MBBTIHG AT CLINTON. 303
when I ue ttatt « new fralt liu been testsd at some one or mon of tb« experlmeDt ttatloDR, with & good repoiC tber«on, then I feel Inclined to give It a trial in a small waj. M7 bite at the Cload Seedling, before referred to, was an exception, as It had never been teat«d at any exp«rltiient station. Bot new BirmntterrteB are fre- quently Introduced by a long story abool their origin, with the asserttoo by the Introdnoer that their favorite IB the Ideal— In fact, the beat strawberry In the oonntry. Now, some alLowanoe should tM made for the entbaelasm of the origins- tor of a new fralt.
There are possible merits In some of the new seedllogs. Probably one In ten U worthy of propagation. In order to be abreast of tbe times, we must keep test- ing, and by so doing we sball improve on those we now have . It was by testing Dew sorts that we now bsve the firm shipping berry In the Captain Jack, and the large size In tbe Shsrpiesa, Bubsoh, Jessie, Bsverlsnd, Parry, Jersey Queen, Man- chester and others. It was by experimenting and testing that we got the Crystal City and Hicbei for early berries, and tha Glendale, Haunt Vernon, Atlsnt'c and Gandy tor late varieties. So, when I look back twenty-flve years ago, when I began berry-culture, when tbe old Wilson was tbe Ideal of every berry-grower, I think we have made great progress, and sbonld never grow tired of well-doing, but should continue testing new fruits as long as there is any possibility of Improvement.
I am now testing the Orest Psdflc, Sdgar Queen and Lady Eusii, all from Illi- nois j and Boblnson's and Sproul's seedlings, of Esn a as origin, with a few of my own aeedllags.
MABKETING THB BBRBT CBOF.
The question ofmarketlngfrnit has grown tu be a serious one, and by no means easy of eolation. The berry product the Isst two years has been larger than the demand, or, In other words, the berry growers are Increasing faster than the eon- snniers. Again, the cost of transportation Is not in keeping with tbe low price of our berries. Another serious matter is tbe careless handling of our berries when transferred from one road to another. The wagon and truck drivers tn the employ of the transportation companies seem not to understand the imperative neuessity of csrefnilf handling easily- bruised and easily-damaged fruits. Tender faults must be handled tenderly when In transit, even for a short distance, in order that the packages may arrive at their destination in a flt condition to meet the wants of con- snmere. Were a petition signed by all the small fr nit-growers, and sent every season to the transportation officials, asking for the proper handling of on r berries, the evil might be remedied. Let us think over this matter, and see If we can have our berries bandied In a better shape next year.
Before closing this long report, I wonld like to discourage tbe planting of large fields of berries anywhere west of the Mississippi river. Unr cities are too small yet, to consume tbe product of our fertile lands ; therefore, for the present, let us conOne ourselves to smaller patches of strawberries. Should the price advance to SC or $0 per orate occasionally, let us not become wild over it and double the acreage with the view of doubling our product and also the price. We should re- member that every berry-grower may be like minded on the Increase of acreage. So if we would only content ourselves with, say from tbe half-acre plots up to the two or three-acre patches, then wlthadiverslty of olher fruits togo with our hlgb- prtoed berries, we will be slowly, but surely, climbing the hill of prosperity ; otherwise , we shall be left In tbe valley of adversity. We should so gauge all our planting that we may not become demoralized by severe adversity nor unduly elated by great prospeTlty. The tendency of the age is to become suddenly rich. We woQid plant to-day, and, if possible, reap to-morrow. To become wealthy in
804 STATE HOBTiaULUBAL 800IBTTT.
K few yeara, and spend the remainder of tbelr Uvea In ease and laxaiy, appears to be the paramouat desire of & large majority of our bnstneaa meo In tbis fait age. I( we would be proaperouB beirr-onltlTatora, we mast ttudy how not to produce a ■arplDS, or when we have a year of great abundance, instead of glnttlngr the markets of OQT country with oar berries In tbelrfresh state, we mast preierre the OTerplos (br a winter market. Every berry-grower ml^t learn aome method tit preserving the surplus product, and thai have a maitetable product ft>r the doll winter season .
To the (rnlt-grower who has chosen the occupation for life, It may be said, that wttb all tbe hindrances, there la encouragement In the fact that all kinds of farm products are on tbe upward tendency, and these who, on account of the low prices of grain products, were seeking for the avenues of hortlcultaral life, will now switch off or return to the old well-beaten road that leads to agricultural pro^ perlty.
THUBSDAY— Dboembeb 5, 2 p. H. Special sobjectB were taken ap at the opening of the session, and reports from committeea were first in order.
BBFOBT OF COUMITTBB ON PLOWBBS. Belt Basket Flowers—
B. 8. Brown, Kansas City, first premium, SQ.OO. E. A. Barnhart, Clinton, second premium, 14.00. Best Hand Bouquet —
M. L. Bonham, Clinton, first premium, fS.OO. Best Table Bouquet—
B. A. Barnhart, Clinton, ftrst premium, $3.00. Collection of Plants—
E. A. Barnhart, gratuity of 95.0(1. Collection of Plants—
H. L. Bonham, gntutty of |6.00.
Saudxl Miller, itsB. L. A. QooowiM, Mbs. Baird. Tbe committee take leave to compliment tbe contributors of the flowers on the excellent condition of their plants. Quite prom toe at among the collection are two India Rubber trees and a collection of green-house trees.
EEPOET OP aOMMITTBB OK FEUITS.
Your committee have made tbe fbllowtng awards, to wit: Best display of twenty-five varletlee—
T. J. Shlokle, West Plains, first premium, faO.OO.
Shepard & Wheeler. Hedalla, second premium, 110.00. Beat ten varieties for family—
W. O. Oano, Olden, first premium, 16.00.
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WINIBB MBETING AT OLINTON.
305
J H. H on »ees. Beam an, »eoond premium, S4. 00. Beat ten rarieties for market —
Olden Pratt oomp&nv, Olden, flret premium, $6.00.
Shepud & Wheeler, SedilU, second premium, f4.00. Ten Tarleties for show —
T. J. milnkle, West Platne, flret premium, $0.00. Five varietlei for market {South UisMuri)—
Shepard & Wheeler, SednIU, flr*t premlam, $3.00.
Olden Fralt compiny, second premium, $3.00. largest apple —
W. O. Oano, Olden, first premtam (Ben Oavts), $3.00. Handsomest apple—
Sbepard A Wheeler, first premlara (Hen Davis), $3.00.
Olden Fruit company, second premium (Buntsman), $1.00. -Quality—
T. J. ShlQkle, first premlam (Qrimea). $2 00.
C. C. Bell, second premium (Qrlmes). $1.00. Best seedling- Samuel Miller, first premium, $3.00.
H. L. Bonham, second premium, $3.00.
We also find on the tables about fortj-flve varieties of apples, some very flna plates from the Henry County Horticultural Soicoty. We also find a number of plates of apples exhibited by C. Hartzell, some of the crop of 1388 and also of 1889 , "kept by hli plan in an excellent state of preserratton, which have lost none of their original flavor; we also find a collection of about seventeen varieties of very flna apples exhibited by J. T. Scott, Powersvllle, f^tnsm oonnty ; we also find abont fifteen varieties of apples, some pears and quinces and large Spanish onions all very fine, from J. H. Bailey. Hesllla, N. H.; we alao find samples of blackberry -and cherry wine, also unfermenled grape wine by Jacob Faith.
All of which we respectfully submit.
O. F. ESPENLAOB,
L. T. Kirk,
O. W. HOPKIHS.
XAtt of 2A varitluM taking Itt premium. Rome Beauty. Ben Davis. "Wlneeap. 'Huntsman. Minlcler. -Jonathan . W. W. Pearmaln. ■Willow Twig. Missouri Pippin. Grimes Golden. Ortley.
Smith's Cider. Penn. Readstreak. Ingram .
Red Romanlte. Lawyer. Nicalaok. Yellow Bell. Baldwin. WlnierMay. Ozark Imperial.
H a— W
Litl nf25 varietia taking id _ Wlnesap. Smith's Cider. Large Bomanlte. Cannon Pearmaln. Jonathan. Vandlvere Pippin. Bed Vandlvere. Clayton.
Missouri Pippin. Stark.
Rome Beauty. Lawver. Wlnrer8pl«e. Pryor's Red . Limber Twig. Rawles' Janet. Small Romanlte. Lanslngbnrg. MioUer.
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STATE HOETICULTDEAL SOCIETY.
Ben Davis. Elrby Red. White Pippin. Wjllow Twig. Ked Cnnads. Hontemaa. lAtl of 10 varietia for family taking l»l prem. JonfttbsD . W. W. PeBTmaln. Roma Beauty. WlaeBBp . KDnteman. Orlmes. Ram bo. Seedling. B&ldwlD. Minkler. lAH of 10 mxriedtt taking 8d premium. Ben DavU . SUrk. Rome Be tat J".
Cl&JtOD.
Htsuuri Pippin. Hunt em an . Jonathan . Wtneeap White Pippin. WlllowTw Ig. lAvt of 10 variHea for market taking lal prem, Rome Beauty. Ben Davis. Winesap. Jonatbao.
HlDkler. Huntsman. WHlow Twig. Ortlev.
Smith's Cider. QllplD. Liti of 10 porietiei for tAoiB taking lat prtm, Rome Beauty.
iten Davta.
HnntBman.
Missouri Pippin.
Reedling.
Tulpebacklng.
Yellow Bell.
Smith'B ader.
Qrlmee. lAat 5 varitiia for market. South Minourir taking Itt premium.
White Plppla.
Huntsman.
Kome Beanty.
Willow Twig.
Ben Davis. Lilt of 5 varietiu. South Miuouri, taking t£ premium.
Ben Davis.
Rome Beauty.
Winesap.
EVAPOBATIira FRUITS.
The object ortfals paper is not so mucb for the purpose of showing the advan- tage and proflts of the evaporating business as It le to show tlie l)eneflt which it brings the fruit-grower, by converting a perishable and almost worthless pn>< duct Into a good marketable condition , at fair paying prices.
All fru>t-growers. and most especially of the apple, know that more than one- half of their fruit is unflt for market, either being wormy, specked, scabby, knotty or small. Now all this fruit can be utilized by the evaporator and placed upon the market at remunerative prU:es. It is not necessary to have a large e stab II sh- ment to accomplish this result. There are driers with their oapaoities ranging ftom one to two bushels of green apples per day up to thousands.
The work can be done Just as well and as chi>aply on a ten-bushel machine as In any of the lar^ factories, and my experience has been that they are Ibc least expensive.
I think every fruit-grower should have an evaporator of sufficient capacity to work np all bis inferior stock, and In seasons of low prices and glutted markets, it will often pay to evaporate the whole crop.
I have often realized more for my culls than for the shipping fruit.
One band can run a ten-bushel drier, with twenty-five cents worth of fuel, and make fifty pounds of white fruit per day, which, at ten cents per pound, about the average price, would net four dollars and seventy cents, making nearly flfty cents a bushel, Including the day's work, and at this year's prices, would be over 70 ceots^ and If the waste is dried, almost a dollar.
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WIITTBR HBBTIIfG AT CLINTON. 307
Again, one Important point thns gained Is onHtng out yonr shipping fk'uit, mak- ing It grade ftuic^, and thereby obtain the blgheit mftrfcet price for tt.
Market only the best, evaporate the rest. Thus yoa Aonld «TOld the breaking down the matkets for the green fruit. This is always done by Inferior stock being run on the market, and never by good choice frnit. Tbis wonld !« more satlsfac* torj all round to the growers, the shippers, the dealers and the consumers. We can, at nearly all times, see apples quoted on the markets at from 7B cents to S1.35 per barrel. Now every one knows these are lost to the grower. All of this kind aboaldnevergoon the market, but In the evaporator; then the markets would keep active, and this stock realized from; but until It la used In thUwayit will be thrown on the markets, breaking them down, Injuring the sale of the flrst'Ckes frntt.
When once the fruit is evaporated you have the world for a market; you have nearly four barrels of apples In a fifty-pound box that can he shipped Just as safety to Alaska, China or India ss to St. Louis, and yon need be in no hurry to market It. Next spring le ae good a^ this fall, and often better prices are obtained,
When properly packed, and with proper storage, it can be kept for years as fresh and sweet as when tlrst prepared, except a little losa In color, bat even this may be overcome by cold storage.
If prices are as low as they were two years ago, when It was worth only from four to stx cents a pound, and the waste and chop less than one cent. It can safely be kept over until there is a sbortage like the present, when fifteen cents can be obtained for the white fruit, and four to five cents (or chop and waste. The chop U apples sliced Just as they are without any paring or coring, and dried ; in this Iheamall and knotty apples that cannot be pared are used. The work Is done quite rapidly with a machine made for the purpose ; forty or fifty bnshela can be sliced In an hour by two hands.
One bushel of apples will make ten pounds of ohop, which Is now worth four cents a pound .
The waste Is the skins, cores and trimmings from white fruit, which needs no > other preparation only to put It in the evaporator, dry It and pack It In sacks or barrels ready for shipment. It Is used for making Jellies, and usually brings about oue-balf cent more than the chop. Host of the chop Is, I understand, shipped to Europe and there manufaotnred Into fine wines and sent back to this country and sold from one to five dollars a bottle. The price is, therefore, greatly influenced and governed by the grape crop in the old country. Many thousands of tone are manufactured each year. Jfve^thlng can be used, nothing wasted.
Mr. 1 tbink still more cau be done thaa tbe gentleman
Bftj-s. I evaporated some 1,400 pouuds of fruit whicli sold for ten cents per pound. I made use of every part of the fi-uit, except the worm; part. Yinegar was made of tbe waste. I sold some ten or twelve banele at 20 cents per gallon, $9.60 per barrel of forty-eight gallons.
I picked out the choicest to ship and evaporated the cnlU and second, which wonld have damaged the whole lot if shipped together. The vinegar apples made nearly as much money as any. I netted $85, using a cider mill that cost $15. We used a pear eorer and slicer to prepare the apples for drying. Wife and two little girls did (he work, apples and wood being brought to the house for them.
S08 STATE HOBTIODLTnBi.L SOCIBTT.
Some of the apples kept a year and a half, were ae white and good aa wheu first pnt np. ISo trouble to keep them five years. We used about a tablespoon of enlphnr to a half bnshel. When dry, we put the fruit riKht into flour barrels, and headed it np tight. Some kept eighteen months, are as nice and fresh as when first pnt up. They are better to cook than fresh fruit, as they don't require sugar, while tteeh fruit does.
We pack them hot, right ft'om the trays. If they stand open, the miller will get intp them. Turn them ftom the tray into the barrel, and keep them perfectly close. Jnst as booq as a barrel is fnll I headed them np.
OM PLAITTINO, PEOTBOTING AND PEONING.
H. B. FRANCIS, UUUBRRV.
I'hlnklDg that a few tbougtitn on tbtB subject might be IntereatlDg to eome, I will tr; and contiibnte something, hoping thereby to bring out some ideas dllTerlng somewhat rnim what we used to practice. Then one coald plant an orchard almost anywhere and have It succeed ; but now, when our orchards have become Infested with so many kinds of Insects and diseases, we hear some sav that frutt-ralilng won't pay. Then the question arises in the mind of the tree-planter : How am I to proceed ? Nothing affords me more plesBure than to walk tbroagh the orchard and explain the different methods on the treatment of the apple-tree. And now, If j'on care to walk along with me, I will point out some of tht- most common mistakes made by the beginner in tree-planting, and the result of the same.
We win sappose one to have some knowledge on this subject, and that be takes ftn Interest In the baslness. or it will be almost □Heli^ss to try and explain or teach him much about this very important Industry. Now, one of the very best helps on this subject tsgood horticultural literature in the house, that onr children and ever; one else may have nccesB to every day; but as anile, [ am sorry to say, I find those who have passed middle life the most anxious to 'earn.
0(TR BOIL AVD ROW TO FRBPARB FT.
In oar county there area variety of soils, and on some kinds it Is useless to try to raise an orchard. How select this soil and location ? A beginner had better obtain his Information from some one who has bad experience In the boBlDess, or he might make a mistake.
After trying various ways In preparing the ground, I have adopted the fol- lowing method: First, stake out the ground in rows tblrty-tbree or more leet apart; then, with a heavy team, plow the ground, beginning in the middle of each row and flntab where the trees are to stand ; then haul and put In this furrow plenty of well-rotted manure ; then again plow up this subsoil as deep as you can and mix with the manure ; If properly done you will bave made a ridge or back- furrow In the dead-furrow ; the gfround Is now ready for planting ; dig no holes hat set the trees upon the loose ground, mound them np nicely and then with the plow turn some furrows back to the trees. There are two reasons for doing the work this way: the flist Is, you bave all the ground tborongbly cultivated tinder tfae tree, a thing you can never do again ; the second reason Is, It gives tbe snrplns water a chance to soak away along the furrow. But If a tree Is set In a hole and
■WINTER MEBTIKG AT OLIMTOM. 309
aeavfraiiiB come, 70a will find a mortar bed around tbe tree that will bake when It again tnmB dry and thne veiy mucb cbeck tbe growth of tbe tree.
I take m^ wagon, pnt on the alde-boardi, put In some wet bay or straw, go to thennisery.and ae I select each tree i have It taken np; they are then tied into bundles and set in the wagon. In doing this way 1 have no tronble in getting tbe beat, and when tbey are aet oat tbey will all grow oiT eTeoly ; but if one takes sec- ond or thlid-claBS stock, tbere will always be some that appears to be dwarfed, and win aever keep np with the rest ; Just wby this is so I don't know, but think as moat of oar trees are grafted on pieces of roots, that the last or lower part of tbe root IB what produces the dwarfed trees; time Is too preoloae with meto set them
WASHISO BOOTS.
For a number of years I have practiced washing the roots as I set the tree. I find many good reasons for this. Sometimes the ground In the nnrsery is muddy and sticks to or among tbe roots, and If set out In this condition, It will get bard and bake almost like a brick when the weather becomes dry. This will most always kill the tree. Another reason Is, sometimes we And root-Ilce ; a bluish looklngmold at first sight, but on closer observation, one finds them resembling hen-lice, tt is no trouble to detect their presence, for when they have been on long the roots be- come TBiy knotty and full of little fibers grown tight together like a sponge. This kind of a tree is not so good, and should not be planted. I put In half a barrel of water, which we sit lo some convenient place, about a half box of concentrated lye and two onoces crude carbolic acid. In this we dip each tree til washed clean. I have not yet seen any Injurious results from this treatment, and tbe trees treated this way have always mads a splendid growth.
Most nurserymen advise leaning the tree toward the southwest. This theory le contrary to natnre, and a bad mistake. All new shoots or limbs will come out on the top side, and If the tree la leaned to the southwest, the top will all start on the north side Just where we do not want them. And aa the tree straightens up with the prevailing south wind, tbe top will be all on tbe north side, and bang out like a flag on a pole. But says one, bow are we to remedy this difficulty ? I say easy enough. Tbere %re two ways : If yon prefer very young trees, say one year old, Just lean them to tbe northeast, and when tbe little limbs oome out, they will mostly be on tbe sonth side ; they wilt do this the first summer; then go along and with tbe band push the tree np straight, and press the earth with yoiir foot to tbe north side, and the work is done. The other way is to get tbree-year.old trees, out ofi' the lowest branches, and set them perfectly straight, taking care to place the larger limbs on tbe sonth side.
This requires more study and practice than any thing else, and tbe worst mis- takes are made or have been made by us all. When we first began to plant we had BO horticultural societies where we could get together and talk over these subjects, ■o we would ask the nurseryman or tree agent, and generally do as tbey told us, that was to head low and cut back— both wrong— claiming that as the roots were abort 10 must the top be. Now, this forever dwarfs the tree and also shortens its natural life and makes it several years longer in coming Into bearing; my erperience of five years says this Is a Act, and who can afford to practice it when a
310 STATE HORTICULTDEAL SOCIETY.
tree aet and the center or trunk left in, It will grow to be a tree and begin to bear Kt leutflvejearasoonertban the one that Is topped and make to grow with a great lot of limba like the bead of broom-corD, to split off one at a time and deatroi* the tree before it baa had time to half psy tbr itself?
Now, the true wayls, the center must be kept In, then the branchea wilt come ont nearly at rtgbt-anglea and one above another, like a cedar or water-oah, and as theybpcome loaded with fruit they will bi-nd and hang down wil bout breaking or apllttlDg with their preciona load. Under thla proceas 1 believe the life of the tree to be prolonged for many more years. With low bead a one can't cultivate and rhe treea will aoon die, and while they do live they won't bear much good fiult.
PROTECTINO THE TREE.
There Is nothing of so much importance as tbia, and it is the most generally neglected. I have tried and seen tried nearly everything recommended, but the beat and moat satlsfaotory of all la coraatalks cut twenty or twenty -four inches long, tben epltt, then aot up around the tree and tied top and bottom with binder twine. This nicely put on and weU tied will stay on three years, and has for rae kept out the borer, the mice, the rabbit, and also baa kept the body protected from tbe sun- scald. tJtalka put on this way seldom ever get tifibt, and they never wilt hurt a tree, for as the tree grows the stalks dry up and dust out, leaving only a thin, tender shell.
PROPAGATION OF FBUIT-BBABIKG TREES.
J Q. KIN'DBR, NEVADA.
In choosing tbe above subject, I do aomore with tbe intent of drawing out diacu^aloD than frooi any new light I profess to being able to throw on the aobject. That there la yet much to be learned or tbe beat methods of reproduclug our fruit-bearing trees there can be no doubt. Shut our eyes to tbe fact as we may, it 3'et remains that there la a constant deterioration going on In many of our heat varieties of fruita. How much of thla la due to our preaent syBiem of propaga- tion no one can say. but there la evidence on every hand to prove that much of it la due to that cause. Take the peach as an instance. We are wont to say that our beat varletiea of peachea are not ao hardy aa the common seedling, without stop- ping to think that all our improved varieties of fruita were once aeedlings, and were once as bsrdy perhaps as any other. Why are budded peachea lesa hardy than aeedlings ? la It becauie tbey are budded, or Is It because they have been worked Indiscriminately on an; fort of aeedling stock, whether hardy or otherwlae? Tbe question arisea, doea there exist what we might term a congeniality or an antipa- thy between two varieties of tbe saute apeclea of fruit, making their union in the one cate advlFsble and in the other not? In anawerto tbia I aak, how else can we account for the extra vigor or tbe extreme weakneas of Individual trees of any given variety growing under apparently the same conditions? Yet who Is there but has noted juat this very thing?
Another proof can be cited of this congeniality and antipathy in the case ot the pear. Some varieties unite readily when worked on the quince, and are Im- proved by being so worked. Tbe Ouchesa pear ia an Inatanoe, while we find many varieties that refuse to unite with the quince, or else do very poorly, and never make a perfect union, and in order to dwarf them tbey must be dou ble- worked . That there doea exist congeniality and antipathy between varieties of the same or of slightly diff'erent apccles, I have not tbe sllghteat doubt, but perhaps less pro- nounced than ia ahown in tbe caae of aome varieties of peara and the quince. The
WIKTEB UBBTINQ AT OLINION. 311
difference tn rewilts lo working tbe Wild Goose and the Dsmaon plum on the peach root Is Terr near as conclnsive — the Wild Ooose being Improved and the Oamaon being very much weakened bj this forced union. Now, I contend that when there is a forced union between different species, or between different varieties of the some species (and remeniber that all seedlltig-etocks are varieties), that when this union Is uncongenial, that there is a deolded weakening of the constltutlOD of the tree, and this going on and on, under our present hap-hazard method of propaga- tion, win eventually so weaken a variety u to make It practlcallf worthless. This I believe Is tbe canse of the weakening of the oonBtltatlon of all budded peaches, la the cause of tbe failure of the Jennet apple the last few years. I t)elleve Its work Jb beginning to tell on the Ben OavU and is the primary cause of pear-blight, th« black knot, and many other evils ne must contend with.
How often do we hear the remark, when speaking of the many hardy seedllDg pears that may be found In almost any section of the country, they admit their hardiness now In their natural condition, but say that they will not remain so when propagtsdas others are. Why? There can be only one anawerand that U that when yon propagate as under our present system, the variety becomes weakened In con- stitution because of the noeultablllty of the stocks upon which It Is grafted, and soon falls a prey to disease. Another proof oan be found In finding here and there Individual trees of almost any variety that are apparently healthy and bllghi-proor. Why? Because In this Instance the stock upon which it was fortunately worked proved especially favorable Jo that variety, and gave to It a vigor that enabled tt to resist the attacks of disease. Of course, U oan be argued that some other cause tnlgbt have ocoaaloned this favorable result, and this would be true In some In- Btanoes; but there are too many iastancea whore only one out of perhaps a dozen of A certain variety remained healthy i yet all apparently were under tbe same con- ditions of soil, climate, etc. 1 speak of this Infiuence in regard to the pear because Its growth with us Is more unoenaln tban of any other fruit ; but 1 believe this Influence is ever present, to a greater or less extent, in the growth of nearly all our fruits, and believe it is of saUlclent Importance to receive the closest investigation of those Interested In fruit-growing and In thegeneral welfare of our State, because if we are Journeying on the wrong road, the sooner we turn back the better. I will again mention the Jennet apple. The universal decision Is that it does not succeed as formerly. Why? Do the trees get less care? Are the climate and soil less favoi^ able T I Chink not. I believe the Jennet apple Is simply played out, or. In other words, propagated to death, or, at least, so weakened by propagation that it has become unfruitful, and rots on the tree to tbat extent that In a very short time this most excellent variety will be entirely discarded. In line with this, X wish to ■relate an Instance that came under my otiservatloo in connection with the Ben Davis apple.
About twenty years ago 1 bought the crop of an orchard, mostly of the Ben Davis; the main part of tbe orctwrd was trees abont twelve years planted, but there was one tree tbat stood to one side ot tbe orchard at least twenty years older than the balance, and also one tree that had been top-grafted on a Limber Twig, and It was surprising wliat a difference there was in tbe shape, size and flavor of the applea growing on these two trees to that on the balance of the orchard ; they were much morejolcy, were slightly longer and more perfect iu shape ; this differ- ence was frequently remarked by several who saw the fruit. I had almost forgot- ten the circumstance when it was forcibly brougbt to mind a few weeks ago. On • the ^m of J. P. Legg, near Calhoun, Henry county, Hissourl, stands what I be- lieve to be the oldest Ben Davis in tbe State; at any rate, it Is over forty years old.
b, Google
312 BTATB HOBTIOULTUBAL SOOIBTT.
and It has a aonnd, stnrdr trunk yet, but tbe limbs st^ moBtlj decayed. At tb» fi)ot of tbtB old tree lay a ip«olmen of Its fruit, and It certainly waa not all Imagln- Ctlon when 1 noted the superiority of Its flavor over the modern Ben Davie ; and so Impreesed was I with It that I took eclona from the tree, and If there la a deteri- oration going on in onr varieties 1 ahall escape about forty years of It by going bach to this old tree and coming forward again.
Kow, it would be idle to advance such a theory witbont attempting to point out or suggest aome remedy to avoid this evil. If It exist, and which I for one (Irmly believe. The remedy I would suggest would be either to propagate entirely by cuttings, or at leaat uotll by experience a certain variety of atook has been found upon which a certain variety of fruit baa proven Its especial fitness, then 1 would reprodnoe that stock by cuttings and use it for that certain variety, and for notbiOK' else, unless it had proven suitable for other varieties also.
Already we hear of the LeConte pear, because of its being easy to reprodnce- fromcuttltige, highly recommended and widely advertised as valuable for a stock upon which to work other varieties of pears. While I have no doubt the LeCont« will be (bund to be of especial value aa a stock for some varieties, and It Is a valoe- we can secure and count on, but I am positive It will be found the reverse of valu- able In others, aa for Instance the Duuhesa, which has been shown to need check- ing In growth to produce the best resulta, and la not desirable aa a atandard, con- sequently would Dot be desirable worked on a atroog growing variety like tbe LeConte. Were I to suggest a suitable stock for the Duchess as a standard, it would be the hardy but alow-growing Seckel, which I believe will be found to exert th« proper Influence, or In that direction. I merely mention these aa hints of the In- fluences that may possibly be under our control should we take the trouble to lo- Teatlgate. To prove that I am not trying to point out the way for others to travel vtlthoutjonmeylngon that road my eel f, will staU that while in Honlteau county- tbls fall I noticed an extremely hardy and vigorous peartree; beside it and attout fbrty feet distant atood another of the same variety, but It had many dead limbs and was on tbe road to deaiructlon ; these treea were each about thirty years old and had borne annaal crops of fruit for many years. Now, under the healthy tree were about a thousand thorny sprouts from six to eighteen Inches high ; under the unhealthy tree there were none. What did thta show ? It showed thai one was grafted on a seedling that had gone back toward the original wild, hardy rarlety; the other from Its throwing up no spronta showed that It was of a more improved variety, but less hardy, and perhaps was. If the matter could have been determined, a better variety than the one grafted on It. So Impressed was 1 with tbe value of that particular variety of stock that 1 dug up all the sprouts and shipped them home, audi also procured grafts from the healthy tree, and If I do not reproduce that tree,* root and branch, blight-proof and ait, I shall be very much mistaken in my judg- meLt ; and supposing I find upon testing It that this variety of stock Is able to Im- part a like vigor to tbe Bartlett and make it blight-proof, or any other, or even j)ne other of our best pears, who could compute the value of the discovery ?
Let no one imagine that, once such a discovery Is made, it will be too mneb trouble to reproduce these vigoroua stocks. They could be propagated by millions by cuttings with bottom heat. And this work need not stop with the pear, but can be extended to the apple and other fruits. I will warrant that. If any one will take the trouble to wander through old orchards, and note the instances of extra bardl- neaa and extra productiveness shown by individual trees that have outlived all their fellows, be will And It hard to explain this vigor upon any ground so reasonable as ' that there had beeb a fortunate congeniality between tbe stock and the scion. And
WINTBB MBETING AT OLINTON. 31S
when Bach an Instance Is foand, [ believe tbat all that la DecesBBiy to reproduce tbU hvorable reaitlt Is to exactly reproduce ttie tree, root and braoota, aod plant od Elm< llai soil.
I will Dot wear oot year patience bj glTlog other evidence Id proof of tlie theory herein advanced, though I have noted them by hundreds since giving the matter my attention, and trust that I have awaliened snfflclent Interest on the eab- Jeet that others will also give the matter their attention, and will aid In proving or disproving my theory by experimenting, as 1 thsll contlnne to do. Before closing 1 wish to make a few remaiks on another branch of this eubjeot, or one, at least, closely allied to it.
Too much attention Is given to the dissemination of fruits of accidental origin that could better be bestowed on ascertaining the better methods of growing the varieties we have. But If we must have new varieties, let them be originated in a scientific manner by bybrldtzatloc. We want an apple with the size and prodnctlve- ness of the Ben Davis, the color and quality of the Jonathan, the tough sklu of the- Wiuesap and the late-keepIng qualities and hardiness of the Little Bomanlte. Now. how long will it be t>efore we acctdentalty secure all this ? A very long time, I fear. But. by a sclent IQc hybridization of these varieties, it is not unreasonable to iMiteve that the result could soon be accomplished.
But this Is a work that no ordinary Individual can carry on at his own ex- pense, because the time required to determine the value of experimtnts is such that It would land most of us In the poor-house before we could realize nuy profit flrom It. These experiments In improved methods of reprodnolng frult-bearlng trees and producing new varieties by hybridization, are a work that should be car- ried on under the supervision of this Society and at public expense. It seems ridiculous to think that wo are fitting with folded hands as it were, and waltlng- for accident to discover those varieties of fruits tbat Just salt our latitude and soli, and are making no well-directed effort to obtain them. Ten thousand dollars- carefully expended would, by growing seedlings and top-grafting on bearing trees, give results from at least ten thousand varieties In ten years' time, and even- less. If those seedlings were ^m valuable varieties grown In close proximity to other varieties that would add to their good qualities, it Is only reasonable to t>e- lleve tbat very valuable results would be obtained . Who would undertatEe to com- pote the value of OOO seedlings of the Jonathan apple crossed with the Limber TwigT Stiould there be but one that would retain most of the good qualities of the Jon- athan and be lengthened three months In i» season of use. It would be worth mil- lions to the fruit-growers of Missouri.
Look at the results lA the breeding of our domestic animals. Lead up the thoroughbred running horse beside the heavy draft animal, and note the power of man over the things of this world. It Is Idle to say that man has not an equal power In producing any certain type or quality of fruit If he should put the atten- tion to it that Is used In the breeding of domestic animals. But on account of the rapid manner in which fruits can be reproduced, no matter how valuable a discovery might be made or how valuable a variety ml>!ht be originated. It Is of such a nature tliat the discoverer cannot control it to his personal advantage or profit. Hence the slow progress made in this direction. Therefore, such investigation should be msdo by the State and at public expense, and tlie public should receive gratis the benefits of this research. I will no longer tire your patience, hue will invite a careful scrntlny of the ideas herein advanced, and ask the co-operation of all In proving or disproving the correctness of my theories. The horticultural field Is broad, and glorious solentille resolts may be reached by him who will dig and delve la its. fertile depths.
Sii STATE HOBTIOULXnBAL SOCIETY.
Mr. Ambrose — I doo't think the gentleman believes more than half of what he has written.
Mr. Murray — I thank friend Kinder for that paper, whether be be- lieves more than one-fourth of it or not. A large per cent of the pear trees being sold are from the sonth. Ttees apon LeConte root« blight' TThe two best pear trees I know are grafted upon apple roots. The pear will throw oat roots, thaa making the tree npon its own roots. Perhaps this lessens the danger of blight. 1 know of the Winesap apple grafted upon Hews' Vs. Grab, which are not mnoh larger than the crab. I think we will have to go to selecting and breeding our varieties -of frnits. The naraerymen of the United States are growing most of their apples upon seedlings grown from seed of the French crab. May not this have a tendency to make the fruit reaemble the crab f Yon will find that the frnit of the same variety grown npon trees in the same orchard is very different.
I heartily concur in the ideas set forth in the paper.
Mr. Blake — Kinder simply knocked the bark off in a fresh place. Along the same line, the Illinois society asked for $6,000 to experiment. They pot this into the hands of Ave different persona. The first meet- ing held only six months after this arrangement was made, was eager to hear the reports from these experimenters. In reference to this breed- ing of fraits; if you breed your live stock indiscriminately yon will get plug stock. There is in Illinois a carious genius who crossed the Tel- low Bellflower upon the Ben Davis. The result is an apple like the Ben Davis on the outside with the quality of the Bellflower inside. He is going to graft it.
Secretary Goodman — Peter Gideon in Minnesota found only one seedling in 5,000 that was good. He produces seedlings tcom seedlings. He keeps them from being fertilized by accident. It has cost an im- mense sum of money; it is an expensive work; but who knows how mach it may be worth to the State 1
When we say that seedlings are hardy, we say what is not true. Take seedlings from some of the best, and Prof. Trealesse says it will take from twenty-five to fifty years to prove any-thing positive in re- gStTd to it. The seedlings we use for stocks do not come true. With peach frees nurserymen have tried to keep up the vigor of the trees by procuring sound, healthy seed from seedling trees and from a sec- tion of the country where the peach thrives and is free from disease. Tennessee peach-pits are noted. We want this matter taken up and studied by the experiment stations. The experiment stations sbonld work together. Fifteen stations, each working in a special line to pro- duce some special result, could accomplish much more than if they -worked independently.
WINTBB MEETING AT CLINTON. 315
Again, why coald we Dot feed oar fmita to make them firmer or «ofter 1
President Evans — I have in mind an orchard which I viaited once in the fall of tbe year, which was made in this way: Seed of the Ben Davis and the Limber Twig grown together, and not fertilized with aoything else, was planted. From these seedlings was planted an orchard of 700 trees — 700 varieties of apples in one orchard. He had had many good kinde of aammer apples, and I saw the frnit of some sixty fall and winter apples. I don't know that I would oare to have any other kind of apples than some of these aeedliags. I found one resembling the Ben Davis and of the best quality, some not quite so good and quite a nnmber of good ones. The Limber Twig gave them quality ; Ben Davis, size and color. Anybody can get aoions from these trees in White county, Arkansas.
J. G. Kinder — There isa Ben Davis tree in Henry county that is certainly forty years old. It has a sound trunk and a very good top, only some of the branches blown off tty storms. It mast have a good root, some kind that was sailed to it. Let as ase that root and graft the Ben Davis on it and we shall have the same results.
Secretary — You are not sure of it by any means.
J. W. Sallee — I think tbe gentleman is mistaken when he thinks he can reproduce the parent root from cattings. They don't make weU rooted trees.
Jacob Faith — I have grafted from two trees of Ben Davis in my orchard that bear finer frnit tbau the others.
Mr. Hartzell — The author of the first paper was exactly right in his thorough preparation of the ground. He plowed his ground first, kuowing that he could not doitthoroughly after the trees were planted. Every &rmer in Missouri has two farms — one below the other. Few of them caltivate the lower farm. As to planting two kinds of trees together with a view to cutting half of them out, if we want a tree to live fifty or seventy-five years we mast not plant so close. High top trees will be in profitable bearing when low tops are dead and gone.
Mr. Stranz— I have planted several orchards. In the first I pre- pared my gronud the year previous, in the fall, with a heavy team of three horses and a 14-iuch plow, twelve to fifteen inches deep, lu the winter I went to the nearest nurseryman and had him to graft me one thousand grafts of such varieties aa I wanted. In the spring I laid off my ground and planted the grafts two in a place, just where I wanted the trees to stand. When the time came I planted the land in potatoes and kept it perfectly clean. My neighbors said I could not grow an orchard in that way. One of them planted an orchard of the largest nnr-
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_V
<gk
316 8TATB HOBTIOULTDBAL SOOIBTT.
sery trees he coald ^et. He aaid they wonld bear In tbree years. Id five years mine bore a few apples. My neighbor baa not bad an appl» and my trees are larger than his.
I planted last spring thirty-five acres more In orchard, ten acres in Btrawbenies and thirty-flve acres in raspberries and blackberries. I prepare my groand a year in advance, turn under clover in Jane, plow- it as deep as I can in September and plant in the spring. I grew aboat one hundred bushels of potatoes to the acre in the orchard. Trees started from the graft will have deep and wide- spreading roots.
FRUITS OB FLOVEBS FOB UONEY.
H. I~ BONOAM, CLINTON'.
Tbe growing of ifratts aad flowers for money Is All easy enongti to talk aboutr but 60107 It li tbe difflcnlt tblng wltb most people. I tblnk I should prefer Ibo- fruits as ■ staple, yet botb are profitable If rightly followed.
The apple, I believe. Is tbe flrst on tbe list of faults, and I think the most profltable for the care neceesary. A great many make mistakes and sad fatlnreft with apple planting, ae they think If the orchard Is planted that IB all they hare to- do, while la fact they have only begun. Like planting a garden and then letting It take care of Itself, how soon you wonld fall. The tree la planted; you then muat; cultivate tt, keep It pruned, protect It flrom rabbits and Insects that will aoon de- atroy It If left to itself; even after the orchard Is In full bearing tho ferttltzlng and: constant care must be kept up. As the prioea of apples ate high this season a great many will embark In tree planting that will stop at that, and En a few years 70a will bear of their failure , and consequently crying against Missouri as an apple- growing country. MUsourl has Its faults as a fruit-growing cotintry, yet I predict It to take the Hrst In the Union In producing abundant and line specimens of almoet- alt torts of frnlt grown In our temperate climate. For this part and north I do not. think there is any fruit that will pay better than the apple ; and I may also say there is no sort that will pay equal to the Ben Davis. There is mora demand for the Ben Davis tree ; In fact. I have received more Inquiries where they can be had and the reply from our best wholesale nurseries is, I osnnot furnish more than 1-6 or 1-10 Ben Davis on orders. Some object to a certain apple because it does not suit their taste, but I have learned that If people want a thing, that is what X must grow If I would make money. The peach mnst of course he a great crop In tbe southern portion of tbe State, but trom the perishable nature of the fruit, I think I should prefer the apple tree for Eure success, although when peaches fail in tbitf part and farther north, the prollt would be greatly Increased. The quiuce Is gen- erally very unsatisfactory as a profltable fruit here. The requisites for suooesa t think are good heavy soil, protecting in winter (and also fertilizing) with coarse' manure and salt. Tbe raising of the pear is very profitable, provided you can g«t them, bnt my experience wllh them is very unsatisfactory.
The growing of small fruits for proflt depends agieat deal on the market that yon can reach, and I sbonid prefer, when I can get It, a local market. Consigning- such fruit to commission men is generally very unreliable busiDess. Strawberries pav me better than either raspberries or blackberries, although all are very satis- factory In a good market, hut the small fruits all require good culture and plenty of work. ABonrfaclUtlesincreaeeforgettlng to market through fast fruit trains r
WINTBS MBETIN8 AT OLINTOK. 317
■WIT perlsti&ble fruit will become more profitable and reliable. The taite fnr euch fraita has growD to suob an extent Id the last few jeara tbat instead of oor email fnilta being a Inxary, tbey are now b; many ooneldered a necessity.
I can remember twenty years ago 1 raised a row of strawberries and bad two or three gallons to spare, and brought them to market In this city. I left tbem in -one of our groceries Where this hall now stands ; the grooeryman could not tblnk of risking so mach as to buy them, but he would take tbem and see what he coald do with ihem ; be poured them out of my basket into a wooden tray. They attracted a great many as the; passed by, and would run their fingers through them as yon have seen them dolnabsrrel ofbeans. Ina day or twomy conslgnmentof straw- berries was exhansted by cnrrlous tasters and decay. I raised no more berries for near ten years. Now this city will consume ten to twenty bushels sometimes in a day. I will leave the growing of flowers for money to some one more able than myself, and will ask my friends to not criticise this weak attempt.
THB viVbtabd,
Hr. Presidkkt and Gen'tlsubm— I regret very much that I cannot be with yon this time, owing to mj health at present n/lll not permit me to be with you, so I will attempt to give you a short note on vineyard, and hope to be excused as It Is.
No onltnre bears sncb ynrlouB results as the grape-vine — owing to localities and soils— and so I will confine myself to my nelghborbocd or county, Gasconade. Our leading grapes cultivated mostly are Concord. Ives, Norton's Virginia, Elvira, Martha and Goethe; we have sleo on trial many of the newer tclnds, such as Niagara, Empire State, Jewel, Hoore's Early, Moore's Diamond, Honteflore and many others, all very fine grapes— bo we ver, all more or less subject to black rot. The Bordeaux mixture, copperas, lime and water, spraying the vine* as soon as the berries are fairly set, and every two weeks thereafter or after every heavy rain, has met with good resnlte. The bird is another destroyer of our grapes, and fore- most of all Is the Orcbard oriole. The English sparrow is reported to be very de- structive. We have them not as yet In our vlneyardx, and hope we will never have them. The red-bird and thrush does but little harm compared to the Or- chard oriole. But by no means do all birds pick grapes. Such as remain all sum- mer In our vineyards, such as blue-hlrds, wens and many others, are useful and are killed to the belief tbat they pick grapes.
To control the black rot remains our foremost object to be successful In grow- ing grapes, and In selection of sncb kinds that Is the least subject to black rot ; such as Norton's Virginia, Ives, Elvira, Goethe, Montefiore, Delaware, Etta and Wood- ruff Red have been the least affected, and here I wish to report that I suggest In producing a seedling vine from Delaware that bas proved ItKelf entirely free ftom black rot In all the many destructive seasons. If we have one that has proven en- tirely free from black rot, why sbould we not be able to produce more tbat would prove entirely rot-proof ? It would be a blessing to our grape-growers, and snob originators would be benefactors to the grape-growers and mankind. To produce new seedling grapes is an easy matter, but to produce grapes of general value, free from all drawbacks, and especially free frDU black rot, will remain something rare and vainable. In conclusion, I would not forget to name a few of onr old and good standard grapes which have been neglected; they are— the Delaware and Catawba ; and among the newer ones Woodruff Red . This covers my main object In grape culture. Bemalnlng your humble servant,
Jacob Bouubl. UoriisoD, Gasconade county, Uo.
ly Google
818 STAIB HORTIOULTDEAL SOOIBTT
TIITEYABDS. Mr. Espenlaab — We want earlier grapes that we can market be- fore the Ohio grapes ripen. The Jewel promises to be one of the best. It has little rot and little mildew.
Mr. Kinder — I want to refer to Moore's Diamond. It is a week earlier than the Concord. The Empire State is the best white grape I have ever ripened. The Niagara is inferior. /
Sam. Miller — What more conid be desired than Moore's Diamond and Empire State t
Mr. Espenlaab — We have to sell all white grapes for low prices. The Ives will bring more money than Moore's Diamond. Niagara is Uie best white grape with us.
President Evans — I don't want to boom any grape, bnt if the com- ing grape gets there in the next few years it will be the Jewel.
Mr. Espenlaab — I have seen it growing by the acre. It shows more frnit than the Concord, ripens before the Champion, is better than the Concord, skin tough, making it a good shipper, equal in size to a medium Concord in berry and bnnch, black with a heavy bloom. J. W. Clark — The Moyer grows too like the Delaware, slow. Mr. Kinder — We are too far soath for the Moyer, Delaware and Fonghkeepsie Bed. Ulster Prolific is the coming red grape. It is saperior to the Catawba, in sugar at least.
Sam. Miller — I have planted it twice. It won't grow. The Jewel is about as good as a grape can get, though it is a slow grower. Mr. Turner — Which of the Bogers hybrids is the best! Sam. Miller— Goethe, Ifo. 1.
J. W. Clark — It is far ahead. It rots less than any of the others. Mr. Kinder — Barry, Merrimao and Salem are the best in flavor to- my taste.
Mr. Espenlsnb — Massasoit is one of the best in flavor among the early ones. It Is a good bearer.
J. G. Kinder — The Brighton is better and more productive. Mr. Patterson — The Brighton, where it does well, is a splendid good grape.
THE PLDM — ITS CDLTUEB AND VALUE.
BT JACOB FAITH, MOKTKVALLO.
Mr. Pretidai/, Sterelary and Memben :
When joung I was ao good-looking that I had to tak« k dog on each aide of me to keep the kIt'b away. But 70U see my ornamental daya are gone. Now £ wish to make myself aseful, and I don't know of a better way than to write tb& following paper :
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
WINTER HBETINO AT OLIHTON SIS'
No tree or fnitt hu received bo Httle ntteDtlon aa the plom, yet fev are more- attraottTe Id appe&rftoce, or more pleasant to taete .
Nofralt la more tempting tban a well-ripened, beautifully tinted, jnloy plum. Ite color is like a Kleam of gold ; Its cheek la delicate &nd sort, and It breatbea a delialona perfume, causing one to yield to the temptation to bite into tbe goldeiv Bkla. No preserves are more detlcioas than that of welt-rlpened plums. Of all grains and fruits none Is equal to the plam .to fatten swine, proportioned to tbe amooDt of labor required to produce it. Uany failures have been made bj not knowing what to plant for our latitude and how to fertilize.
Caddo Chief is the first to ripen, but late frosts often kill them. Three weekft later the Wild Oooee ripens, the most profitable at that time of ripening. Three weeks later, when ffild Goose is about gone, Crimson Beau tj ripens. It produces- a wonderful crop, much like the Wild Qoose — both tree and fruit. The same may be said of Brown's Late, which ripens about one week after the Wild Ooose. The Golden Beauty ripens about one week after Brown's Late. lu color It Is a greenlshi yellow, it is less subject to curcullo than those mentioned before, but is subjeot to over-bearlDg, und thus the fruit is small. It la also subject to cracklngor burst- ing like the Geaettlng apple, after a dry apelt when fall rains come, and take a second growth.
Blue Damson, Marianne, Weaver, Miner, etc., failed to yield aatisfBctory crops. One cause. I do not underatand with all my study and experience how to plant and fertilize these varietlea.
The best way to plant plums is to ulternate varieties in the plum orchard. A vaiiety that might be a poor bearer when depending on Its own pollen may greatly improve when intermingled with other aorta. Again, if the weather during the bloBBOmlng period Is hot and windy, a variety niay waste Its pollen before tbe stlg- maa are ready, and in auch the pollen of adjoining sorts may supply the want.
A few years ago I woa alarmed about plum trees in my apple orchard, as 1 have about 300 planted between standard apple treea, to be cut out when the apple trees need tbe room, but I have since come to the conolaflon that plum trees are profita- ble to an apple orchard, both for fruit and an Insect catcher. Tbe Insects prefer the plum to tbe apple, and plums stung will fall to the ground. Only a few insecta reach maturity In the plum.
Spray, eammeoclog after the bloom drops. 1 prefer jarring early at morning. Hogs will soon learn to follow andeatmorethan ten times the amount of Insects they dotn apples. To saw off a limb will make a place to strike on, as it requires* snddeu Jar to bring down the stung plum in reach of the fowls or piga, which is Indispensable In a plum orchard. Where no poultry and pigs can be allowed to pasture, plums ahould be picked up. The ourcullo will remain In the plum about nine days after it falla , Tbe eurcullo will deposit their egga In both cold and warm weather, but In cold, wet weather they will seldom hatch.
This season at our Vernon county fair I bad on exhibition asmaay as six applea on a half-inob limb. Several times I heard the remark, all on that limb are free from worma. My premiums amounted to over SI4.
Sis years ago we planted half gallon w lid Ooose plum seeds . About 600 came up, growing to about the size of a lead penoll. We planted seventy 'five, favoring In selecting for orchard those having large leaves. At three years old some com- menced bearing. Host all have ftra ite d- plums in size from a common oherry to »
ugle
320 ST4TB1 HOBTIOULTUBAL SOCIETT,
medium plum. If they doo't betaave better witblD two yean they will be out down. That plumii will reprodace tiom the seed, tbe eame aa the parent tree, la a mlatafce. There are several sorts or peaohea that will reproduce. If J was to take time In this paper to relate my fallarea In experlmeottng Id plum cnlture, some of you would leave the room.
Twelve years ago we planted sixty Wild Goose plum trees ; forty of them were budded on seedling peaeh trees and twenty were grafted on seedling peach roota. for grafting plums we use whole toots, graft at the crown, ualug as near as poMl- ble a graft the size of root.
The forty trees budded on peach atocfc oommeneed dying at six years old and are now all dead ; these twenty grafted on peach roots soon grew on their own roota and thirteen out of the twenty are yet alive and healthy. A plum tree grafted as described will throw out sprouts which certainly will bear the same tra\t as the paront tree, i much prefer those sprouts of ploms and Early Klchmond cherries than those budded on other stock. It is true a plum budded on peach atock will come Into bearing one to two years sooner, but those from the sprouts will make much the healthiest trees. Further, one-half of my Early Richmond cherry trees have been killed by gophers eating their roots ofT, while I seldom lose one grafted from the sprouts. I bear one say "I don't want a sprout on my place." Ifhogsrun in a plum orchard they will eat them very readily, and cherries will sprout bnt little. For aie they don't sprout enough to sell to my neighbors. Fiara trees wtQ get their full growth In about eight yean. I planted mine twelve feet apart; should be eighteen to twenty feet apart. Plums require such land and culture as peaches, bnt the peach tree needs more pruning than any tree I know of. The plum tree needs the least. Pick plums fOr market three or four days before you would for family use.
Plums that have proved best adapted or most profitable for my locality are the Wild Goose and Crimson Beauty. No trult nor griin pays more to the amount of work required than that of plum. One acre of plums will make more pork than five acres of corn. No business requires more care and study than that of horti- culture. One mistake In agriculture can be remedied in one season, but if a tree la planted it is eltber a lifetime vexation or a lifetime pleasure and treasure.
For catching moths and beetles i use a simple tin lamp. The lamp is set on a stake three to four feet high, one end of which Is driven Into the ground. On the other enil a little Ixiard is nailed for a pan to set on, which Is filled half full of water and a few drops of coal oil. The light attracts the bugs, and as they dive at the light they burn their wings and thus fiill Into the pan of water and oil.
When death shaU claim us we shall realize that a llfb of toll and love for Ood and for man, though a failure here, Is not a failure above.
DISOUSBION UN THE PLUM,
Jacob Faitb — I nse a little cheap coal oil lamp which I set in a plate of water to catch ineecte at night. The insect seems to love the light. I believe that plnms planted in an apple orchard save the apples from insects. Kow. there is one thing I woqid like to know. I did very wroDg in not sending some of these insects off and having them examined to see what proportion of friends and what of enemies I had caaght.
.y Google
wiNraa mbeting at olinton. 321
Mr. Blake — I woald like to ask why every plam-grower speakB so highly of the Wild Goose plam, aad every woman woald rather have a peck of Green Gage or Damsons than a wagon load of Wild Goose "
J. C. Evans — Farmers generally don't call the Damson a plum,
Mr. Murray — I once condemned the Wild Goose ; bnb take the pits out and make a pie of them, and you will not want any more Cali- fornia apricots. Pick them before folly ripe for shipping, jnst as they begin to color. I have been shipping and selling them at trovo eight to seventeen cents per quart, averaging with the blackberry in price. One grower in my knowledge realized $250 from one-half an acre of Wild Goose pinms ; another $300 from one-fonrth of an acre. I woald not give it for all of the other varieties. The Damson don't amonnt to anything; don't produce. 1 have thrown away the Marianua. The Wild Goose ia known everywhere, but the people don't know how to ase it.
J. H, Logan— I have 400 trees of the Wild Goose plnm, aad find them profitable every year. Caddo Chief is too early, and is not worth a cent a bnshel. They come in the strawberry season, so we could not find any use for them. They are too soiall. We shall cat them down in the spring. I wish I had 500 more Wild Goose plnm trees.
Dr. Bloan — Does the cultivation of plums increase the nnmber of insects on tbe apple 1
Jacob Faith — Insects prefer tbe plum, and they will sting tbe plum in preference to the apple, and tbe hogs will eat the plnm. Hogs love plums, and will eat fifty times as many insects in plums as in apples.
Mr. Turgeon — It appears that something should be done In regard to the plum. There is one thing very essential ; the plnm will not suc- ceed when planted scatteriuK- They should be planted thick In clus- ters or groves. Plant where chickens run.
Mr. Carpenter — How do they cnltivate the Wild Goose — those who make a snccess of it t
Mr. Ambrose — The Wild Goose is more productive than any other we can plant in Missouri. It is nearly free from the ravages of tbe curcnlio. It is not of very good quality. We have many others that are of better flavor, bat we cannot grow them for profit. Mr. Logan has made money out of plums, but yoa must fertilize it to be snccess- fa!.
DISOnSSIOH ON UABKBIIHG.
Sam. Miller — It is the duty of men in every business to put up straight goods. There have been so many badly packed cases of frnit on the market that the buyer don't know what to bay, unless yon put year name on every package. So moch bad fmit is shipped that it
H B— 21
S22 STATE HOBTIOULTURAL SOCIETY.
gluts the market for all kinds of &ait. It is rolnone to the hortJcaN taral interest. Fifty per cent good frnit vill bring as mnch money as all, good and bad shipped together. If every grower vonld ship only good Irnit he wonld avoid glutting the market This applies not only to apples bnt to everything else. Ship frnit of good quality rightly packed.
C. C. Bell — I believe in early picking. We sometimes pick the Genet too early. I sometimes tell my farmers to make two pickings, first selecting the largest and best ripened irnits, and leaving the others t« grow. Pick the first Ben Davis the last week in Aagast, the re- mainder tt^ree weeks later. The trade calls for the Ben Davis early, , Mr. Dorand — The Ben Davis is green in August.
Mr. Bell — I ship them as early as the 24th of Aagnst. They are red at that date. This year was an exception. All sorts ripened ear- lier than usual.
THUBSDAT, Dbcembkr 5, 8 p. m.
A number of songs and recitations were given by the popils of Baird college. With the assistance of Prof. Hall and the choir of the Presbyterian church, a very delightfal as well as profitable evening was spent. The songs were good and the recitations were well rendered.
LOW LAHDS FOH OBCHABDINO.
Aea rale, blgb, dry, poroue and warm land Is considered beat adapted for BucceBBful orcharding, which rate will not be abandoned soon, nor should tt be. Snob soils are natnrally beet adapted to develop a healthy growth of tree, shrub or vine, wltbont wtalcb buocobb canuot follow.
Thia fact does not, bowever, exclude the successfnl cnltlvstlon of some of "Pomona'B girtB" on soils devoid of the above characteristics, as for as attitude la concerned.
The apple, the Chickasaw tribe of plum, the pecan, blokory and walnut, for instance, can be and are grown wltb excellent results cfti the "tow lands" (bottom b) usually found bordering rivers or large streams, provided always that either anr- face or under-ground drainage Is sufficient to conr off the surface waters.
The only indigenous groves of pecan wblch 1 ever met wltb were on such bot- toms. Many portions of these lands, especially ttie ctaolcest agricultural parcels, are very rich and liable to cause an overgrowth of wood and foliage, to the detraction of the productiveness of the trees, and also the coloring and texture of the fruit. These evils may bo counterbalanced to aome extent by dlBtaut planting and careful pruning, in order to allow the atmosphere to circulate freely and to penetrate
WINTER MBBTING AT OlilflTON. 323
Among ttaa braachea, Oo t-uoh ground &pple-treei should never be Mt less than fort; f^et apart each way, wliUe fift; feei would, 1 think, be the more advisable distance.
The more sand; and conaequeott; leaa fertile tracts produce tees growth, and treea planted on snob come Into bearing aooner, sod produce better colored ftnit with denser texture of flesh, aa well as of richer and better developed Savor. The best teaulta, however, with the apple, plum and pecan, 1 noticed on snch low lands, were on a third-claaa, aometimea deacrltied as waxy, black, sticky, also gumbo, only, though, after proper drainage as above referred to. This class of soil appears to be inexhauatibly fertile, bnt is so tenaciotis and unoomatable, If you will allow that term, u to cause the roota of treea a hard stmggie to extract the nourishment they seek ; hence the treea make no undue growth and come into fruit earlier than on either of the classea of soil above mentioned. As the tree gains atrength of root It of course permeates the aoii, and along the roota the air and water penetrate and set free thoae elementa needed to maintain growth, by which means the treea are «nabled to sustain large crops of fruit as well as a long life of uaefulneas.
I mast not by any means be understood as recommending these lands aa the beat for the apple, etc.; only for the pecan nut I claim them as such, and the last clasa described is oertalnly the best for that. Aa the aubjoot ssalgned me by your committee oonflnes my remarka to the clasa of lands intimated, I have endeavored to impart eucb facts ae have come under my observation, and to state in how tax ench fields may be aafely traatcd to bring forth satisfactory results to the orchard- lat.
I will close with a few remarka as to what I would or would not do if I contem- plated embarking in ftult-growing on "low land." J would aeleet as beat tbe gumbo, as second the sandy, and last the very rich; on latter would set apple -trees fltty feet apart, would crop the land with corn, potatoea, or even wheat, until the trees came of good bearing size, after whtoh would cultivate only enough to sus- tain healthy growth ; prune to rather open heads. On the two other kinds of soil would either crop tbe land or not, according to growth, etc.; would, after coming to fruitage, sow an occasional crop of clover to turn under ; would be governed In pruning by the growth, etc.
I would not plant iiefore drainage ; would not plant at foot of bluff nor ao near timber as to Impede clrcalatlon of air ; would not allow weeds or brush to encum- ber the land, nor would I head a tree less than live feet and expect good fruit from the lower branches after the tree became of mature size. I would not venture largely on peara, peaches, cherries, or other than plums of tbe Chickasaw doss, nor would I venture into small frnlts to any extent beyond what was needed at home, before a thorough experimental teat.
SS8AT ON THE ALLEGED DEOBPTIOns PQACTIOBD BT NUaSBRFVEN OK THBPDBLIC.
Vfe f^quently bear such expresaions from Airmers, who have young orchards Jnst coming Into bearing, OS, every nurseryman and fruit-tree agent Is a swindler. I bought my trees from auch a nursery; they were said to be reliable men. But look at the fruit I have got, and then aay if I have been swindled or not. It la true, my friend, your fruit Is not what you expected It to be, but are you so very sure that the agent or nurseryman Is entirely to blame for It? I^et ua look at the sub- Jectln its proper light. Perhaps when yoit located in these parts you came from
324 STA.TB HORTIOVLTnOAI, SOCIETY,
some dUtant 8tate where the coDdltlone were entlrelj different from this looalltjr. Soil, moisture, temperatare and altitude were perhaps &fc diBBlmflftr tothlscountix aaday Is to night. Where you oame trom you had certain kinds or fruits, applea, pears, peaches and plums, which were standard varieties, and yon linew them to be good. So when you located in thla country you wished to plant the beat, and what was t)est where you came rrom must also he the beBt where you went. Now, my dear sir, here is where you made the first grand mistake. Yon did not take the changed climatic oondititions Into consideration. The apple which In New York might be a standard, in Hlesouri probably was worthless. The pear which sought its equal In Penasylvaiiia may not lie worth planting in Illinois. The peach that was nnsnrpassed in New Jeriejr might be a nuisance In Kansas. The nurseryman had all the varieties you wanted. Be might have told you, they were unsnited to this climate, but you would not have believed him ; and be was hut human when he sold yon a bill of nursery stock, and took your money (or the same. Hj friend, we can best attain wisdom by experience. The writer of this has been there. Be has been one of the fools, and he had plenty of company. His experience (like that of many others] has been profltable to him, and he has realized the fact that what may be flne fruit In one locality may be an abomination in another. He invested largely in fine plums and pears. The plums went long ago where the woodbine- twinetfa, and hie experience In pear culture bad better not be told, lest It discourage the new beginner. He had an Idea that this country was Butted to grow the White Bellflower, the McAfee Nonc-ench, the Seek-no-furtber and the Winesap to perfec- tion; that all the flne varieties of plums and pears were or ought to be natives of these parte ; and when he bought his goods, the nurseryman did not say, the kinds you ordered are not suited for these paita, but pocketed his money. Now, my friend , let me say this to you: Neverplant anything but what experience has shown to be^ good. Never meddle to any great extent with new and untried varieties, for that business consists of too many probabilities and very few facts. Common sense ought to teach you that an apple suited to the climate of New York or Canada la totally unfit for oar climate, and it is only in rare Instances that it Is sucoessfui. Every variety of fruit has Us zone where It attains its greatest perfection, and deteriorates * when It is removed therefrom. Now, my dear sir, do not put all the blame on the nurseryman; shoulder some of it yourself; be honest for once in your life, and con- fess you were In fault yourself, and will shoulder your share of the responsibility. Beflolve to do better In the future than you have done in the poet, and you will have madealongstepin the right direction, profitable to yourself, and instructive to your fUends, neighbors and the coming generation.
BESULT OF OEQANIZATION.
1, KKLSOH, LBBAHON.
JIfr. Praident, etc.. State Hortieultwal Soeiett/!
The paper assigned to mc, the "Ueaaltof Organization," covers such a vast space that one hardly knows where to begin or where to stop. What great work or works is there to day but what has been brought ahont by organization ?
The telegraph cables crojsing the different bodies of water, connecting the old world with the new, were brought about through organization ; the mammoth steamships running between New York, Boston and differents ports of foreign countries, wi>re brought about through organization; the land telegraph wires run- ning from ocean to ocean were put up and put in operation tbrough organization ;. the thousanda upon thousands of miles of railways of the United States as well &a.
D.-inz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
WIKTBE MEEUMO AT OLINTOIT. 326
foreign couDtrlea were put In ezlBience throagb orguilzBllon ; tunnels are out through mouDtalaa, rivers are (panned by bridges or oolossftl dtmeDBlons, sod this hubeenftnd is being aecompliahedthroQgli orgaDlzstlon; and oomlng nesrer home, we see and know dAlly of whet le being done by a few men through organization ; the number you can count on the fingers of your hand, yet through this organlssation the Interests of millions of people are afl«cted. I refer to the Big 4, as so called ^ this handful of men, as It were, controls the meat food of this great country; and let us look for a moment at another handful of men, less even la number than the meat combine : 1 refer to the Standard OH company ; this is no doubt one of the richest, wickedest, most powerful ornanlsatloos In the world. Think you, Hr. Preeident, such work as has been done by these few men could be done only through organization ?
We will look for a moment at what has been donethroughorgaoizatlon among the (krming classes In all the fiaetern. Western and Northern States, as well as re- oently in more Southern States ; organizations for cheese making and butter making have apruog up, until now the factories for mannfactnrlDg butter aod cheese can be eounted by thousands, and the products of some swell Into millions of dollars per aonnm.
But how is the horticulturist to be benefited through organization ? liCt us «ee. Let us look first at the starting point i ten men want to plant 100-acie orchards, each ; tbey have the capital to buy the land, clean it, fence It and plant trees. They look for a location separately, but find laod held at {10, Hi, $ietotSO per acre, In 100-acretracts; each of these men, however, has beard of a party holding 1,000 acres of fruit land that can be bought In a body at f 4. These ten men get together and organize a Fruit-Growers' and Shippers' association, eleot offloers and go to work, and they find through organization that as great, or nearly as great, reduction can be made all along the line, as in purchasing the ground to start their orchards — their labor, trees, wire (Or fence, railroad transportation, barrels for packing (tnlt. In facteverythlngpertalolDgtowhattheywlshtobnyOT what they have to sell. lam not refSorrlog to the Ulden Fruit company, but how should the common or every- day fruit-grower be benefited through orgnnlaatlon. In every fruit locality or «t every shipping point there should be an organization, possibly not of the «ame kind as referred to, but would bring about same results. These organUatlons could be gotten up euUy where there were wide-awake horticultural societies, bat nothing to hinder them where there were no such societies. Hr. President, you must understand that the county L live in has not been put down on the map of HlBsonri only for a few years, and we no doubt are laboring under disadvantages that other looallties do not have to contend with.
In our iocility we Intend to get up an organization, first, to make oar own barrels and boKes for shipping, and second, we hope to get up Interest enough to build a oold storage for holding fruit. Those who have closely watched the fruit maAet from September let to December 1st can readily see who has made the money on fruit of the last year's crop. As usual, the brmei and local dealer have got for the fruit grown and labor In picking, packing and shipping—the farmer, I •ay, and local dealer, between them have got Just about one-half what the fruit is selling for. This Is all wrong, and may we not hope the time is not far distant when either through local or county or State organization theseevlls may be overcome par^ tially.if not wholly. Thus far the fruit Is not yet shipped. Now there Is none of us but wbat well knows that companies, BocletieHororganlzatlons get better rates over express and rail routes than can the Individual. To illustrate a case of freight : I know an Individual who had 200 tons of hay; was anxious to ship ; rates were 93.36
826 STATE HOETIOULTUBAL BOOIBTY.
per ton (prohtbltor^), bat as an fodlvldaal, all his efforts were of no avail. Heap- piled to tbe PrealdeDt of the Farmers' ln(tltnt« of his town to bave blm see what he coald do. Notd the results brought about at onoe through this organization. Bates were at once reduced from 33.3G to $3.25 per ton. Through this reduction the railroad got Stty can of hay to haul aud tbe farmer a benefit of $1.10 par ton on it all, and ;et the railroad got big money for doing the work. And still this same Farmers' institute or President of It secured another redaction of 3G cents per too . Now when we hare It to go to market, nay one gets a car for $3 per ton, whether one car to ebip or twenty.
8o mnchfbra little organization; and so It would go, Mr. President, all along the line. Through organization, well conducted, almost any obstacle can be over- oome; and I firm I7 believe that now, right at this time, and, as we may say, the opening up of a new fruit era to Mtssonri, thousands upon thousands of dollars can l>e Bared yearly to benellt the farmers, fruit-growers, their wives and families. I do not want to be understood that I am making war upon the commission or middle man, for be is, as I believe they all are, a necessary evil, and an evil that yon cannot, for a time at least, dispense with, fou and I, Ki. President, may not live to see the middle or oommlaslon men dispensed with, but there are young men in this hall who will live to see them a good deal harder to (tnd than It Is to find hens' teetb.
And In closing, Mr. President, may we not look for and trust some action may be taken at this very meeting looking to the organization of fruit-growers, either of State, county or locality, furely this Is as favorable a time as will ever he had for putting the ball in motion.
HOBTIOULTUBB IN ITS BBASIHG OM SOCIBTT.
W, A. SMILEY, BOONVILLB,
By hortlcnltnre we do not mean simply gardening, as tbe word literally taken would Imply, hut tbe cnlture of trees, flowers and vegetables, and the artistic ar- rangement of them for profit and for pleasure.
When Ood created tbe first human pair, sinless though they were, he placed them In a garden ' 'to dress It and to keep it," signifying by this that their well- being and enjoyment would he maintained and promoted by such employment.
HowdellgbtfUl their at taation must have been when we know that this garden contained every tree "that is pleaaant to the sight snd good for food," and that weeds and thorns and thistles were nnknown.
By disobedience man forfeited his estste and was driven out of tbe garden to subsist on the herb of the field and ' 'earn his bread In the sweat of his face . "
It is not tbe object of this essay to tell of all the woes produced by man's first dlsolKdlence — how a paradise was loit or how a paradise may be regained.
SufSce to say that man is In a condition to become happier and t>etter, and we may say generally desires to become happier and better. Without saying that the road to happiness leads back to Paradise, It certainly leads forward to It. True religion Is progressive. If "cleanliness Is next to godliness," surely the beautify- ing of onr homes, our Bcfaool and church grounds, and our pnbllo highways with trees that are "pleasant to the algbt and good for food," with flowers and starnb- t>ery beautiful to twhold, is, to say the least, an Indication that the people doing so are refined. Intelligent and progressive, and are a Christian community, or are highly aueoeptlble to Christian Influences, as we shall attempt In the progress of thtft article to show.
WINTBB MEETING AT OI.IHTON. 327
Ttae condition' of (ooUtf tn a aavage or Kmt -civilized state la generally migratory, snbBlstlng on their Hocks uid berda, or depending on tbe more prerarl- oos reeoltB of the ohmBe for a llrelthood.
Sncti a mode of life from Ita very nature predndea almost entirely even the cnltivatlon of the soil, without eaylag anything about the onltlvatton of fruits and flowers. After a weiry march under a burning ann tiiese nomads no doubt wel- come with delight the cool shade of ttae trees of tbe forest; but the glory of Ood, •B manifested In the "Rose of Sharon and the Lily of the Valley," is no doubt unseen and unfelt by them.
God h&s done much to beautify tbe earth for mitQ, bnt to the man who has not made the laws and beauties of nsture a study, ber beauties are like some flowers, ■■born to blush unseen and waste their sweetness on the desert air."
To be benefited by the productions of nature, we mast try to improve on nature. We must use our head and our hands. The curse pronounced on Adam Is Indeed a blessing to hU posterity. If we look at It aright. The gronnd must be pre- pared with labor, the seed sown with care, the growing plant most be nourished and eultlvated, but notwithstanding much weariness and perhaps some disappoint- ments, how gratifying are tbn results.
Nature responds readily totbemagle touch of tbe Intelligent and palns-tak- Ing husbandman. We have first the blade, then the ear, then the full corn In the ear.
He is rewarded by seeing old varieties of ftuits and flowers Improved and new varieties orlginatf'd.
Here Is exercise for the body and food for ttae mind. He is Incited to greater attainments In ttae study of ttae laws of nature and greater diligence In ttae applica- tion of his knowledge.
Thus the mind la expanded and tbe body strengthened, and henoe the indi- vidual is benefited and society, of which such Individual fbrms a part, is oorre- ■pondlngly Improved. Our subject, however, leads ns to consider tbe Infiuence of hortlcalture on national progress and wel&re. As before stated, the uncivilized nations plant no trees, cultivate no gardens, In order to gratify a taste ft>r the beau- tiful ; hence It Is an evidence of a civilized and refined community where such a taste U manifested. Point to any nation where horticulture receives marked atten- tion, and you (vlllflnd this ttae case In a high degree, while tbe want of It ts indica- tive of coarseness, stolidity and Im providence.
We will take for our lllnstration those two empires — Russia and Japan. Trav- elers In Japan tell ns that ttae Japnese have an eye for the beautiful ; that In clear- ing their lands, they leave a tree or ctnmp of trees on prominent or plctnresqne points ; hence, their landscapes are never bare, monotonous or proay.
With one hundred and fifty varieties of evergreens in the empire, there is a verdant touch in field and forest even In mld-wlnter. This Is but a glimpse of the horticultural surroundings of a people which Joseph Cook calls the "diamond edi- tion of humanity."
Though we are sending our misBlonarles to christianize them — and I may add, wboee labors are attended with wonderfnl success— may we not receive one lesson at least from them tn the art of beautifying our laodBcapes, ornamenting our public grounds with trees and shrubbery, and neatness In onr domestic surroundings.
Where Is the farmer amoog us who In tbe felling of his forest, In the arrange- ment of his fields and grounds near his boose, has an eye to the pleasing effect It will produce to the bebolder ? Why, It seems to me tlixa the crowded condition of oar door-yards, tbe amount of weeds and rubbish In or near tbe roadside, the
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328 STATE HOKTIOULUEAI BOOIBTTT.
contrary effect 1b lnt«Dded. To put the most favorable construction on tbe matter, manj seem to be governed In these thlDgs lolety by motive« of eoontHur and couvenienoe.
Tbese are well enongh when combined with taste, bnt without it are apt to lead to avarice or laziness, either of which Is tbe bane o( good society.
Now, let as take a cursory view of that other empire, great in the extent of her territory, great in her physical force, and great as the world goes Id her army and all the paraphernalia of war.
What U tbe condition of Bussla with regard to hortlcaltnre and all Chat adcffu- ment of home which goes far to make a happy and contented people? I quote from an article in the "Century:" "The outward aspect of a Russian village Is not attractive, and there is little choice In the aurroandlag country between wide, gray plains with a distance of sorabby pine forests, or the scrubby pine forest with distant gray plains.
"The peasaDtb' houses are scattered np and down without any order or arrangement, and with no roads between, built of trunks of trees, unaquared and mortised into each other at the corners, the interstices Hlled with mud and mou— a mode of building warmer than it Bounds.
"in the interior there is always an enormous brick atove Ave or alx feet high, on which and on the floor the whole family steep in their raga. The heat and etench are Mghtfut, No one andtesses, washlag IB unknown, and sheep-Blcia pellaees, with wool inside, are not conducive to eleanlincas. Wood, however, is becoming very scarce. Klfty years, It Is said, will exhaust the present forests, and hreah trees are never planted."
Over this stolid, ipMrant and unprogreaslve mass of human beings is plaoed the most corrupt set of offlclala to be found in the whole world, from the caar down to the lowest tax-gatherer. The subject plotting tbe destruotloa of the ruler, and the ruler seemingly only seeking his own glory and the extension of bis dominions, without oonsideratlon for the weU-belng of his subjects, will complete the picture.
Now, whether the attention paid to horticulture has produced the delightful state of society la Japan, or the want of It baa brought about tbe deplorable condition of society among the rural BusBlan population, I am not warranted In saying from the premises. Perhaps the nataral temperament of the people, the facilities fbr edu- cation, clliuatlc influences all combined have something to do with it ) but we wlU, perhaps, all agree that advancement in horticulture and attention paid to the embel- lishment of landacapes and home surroundings are evidences to the intelligent traveler of a refined and progressive state of society. And we may conclude that the reflex Influenoes of such surroundinga must be to deepen the Bensibllitles of the adult population, and to fix and increase these happy conditioue on rising genera- tions. Time will not permit to call your attention to the bearing of thla subject upon the health and longevity of man. I.iet us then, as a people and commonwealth, learn lessons of wisdom from other societies; and, while we are sending them teachers to point the way of everlasting life and happiness, let ua study horn them those elements which tend to the stability of government, tbe promotion of hoalth and the present happiness of our people.
EEPOBT ON ENTOMOLOGY.
BY HABT X. MURTFKLDT, RIRKWOOD. MO.
The past season was In many respects unusual. Tbe winter months were cbaracterlised by a uniformly higher temperature than for several years. There were some very heavy rains but very little snow or ice. The spring, on the eon -
WINTER UEKTING AT CLINTON. 329
tnij, wM YtTf cold, wet and baofeward, while the beat of the sammer wa* exces- sive, and aocompaoled bj an almost unbrokeD drouth for two moQthi, which w^a, after some alight taIdb, saoceeded by a dry autumn .
That theae climatic eoDdltlonB ohould have had their effect upon the develop- meot of iDseot life la not aarprldng. Many species, eapecialljr those that htberaate in the larva or perfect form, were greatly redooed lo numbers, the warmth of the winter raontbs keeping them In a state of semi -activity, while there was no suitable vegetation on which they conld feed, and thua he enabled to oomplete the cycle of their lives.
Again, many Insects that are usually rather riire appeared In destructive num- bers, the warmth of the winter being favorable for their contlnuanoe and multlpll- «atlon. Among those to which the season was adverse may be mentioned various species of cut-worms, flea-beetles, the Colorado potato -bee tie, the blister-beetles, «nd even that hardy and adaptive tnaect, the plum onrcallo— the dlscomflture of this pest being eorapleted by the mid-summer drouth, by whtoh the ground was bo bested and hardened that the few larve which bad entered It frotn early fruits could not efiect their tranaformatlons. Canker-worm moths also appeared out of due season, and many of the females perished without laying their eggs, or the larvfb hatched Id time to be cut .off by the severe cold of Haroh. The chinch- bug, too, was missing, or but scantily represented In the grain fields, the cold and wet spring producing the fatal "bronchial" trouble to which, according to an entomo- logical H. D., this Insect Is peculiarly liable.
Bat, because of these immunities, and others of less Importance, let it not be Inferred thnt the farmer and fruit-grower had opportunity to rest from their labors, so far as Insect pests were ooncemed. On the contrary, nature tookoare to more than flU up the depleted ranks. Jf there was no chlnch-bng, two species -of grain aphlds took Its place and exceeded It in destruotlveness. Prom Texas to fflBoonsin, farmers bewailed tbe "blight" that bad settled on tbelt promising acres. Bye and wheat suffered very considerably, but the severity of the attack fell upon oats, thousands of acres of which were plowed under instead of being har- vested. Nor were these the only speeles of plant-lice that were conspicuous, but It seemed that all the direct and collateral descendants of the family Sphididce pre- sented tbemselres at onoe, like one of the plagues of Egypt, taking possession o* field, orchard and garden— the oold and dampness of the spring-time favoring their development, while It retarded the increase of their catural enemies, eo that It was not until June that Syrphus flies, Lace-wing flies and Lady-bird beetles ob- tained tbe mastery over tbe minute, but InQumersbie hosts. And In the mean- time, unless artiflolal remedies were employed, all plants Infested were dwarfed and dlatorted, If not killed outright.
Among the newer Insecticides which proved very satisfactory for the reduc- tion of Apliids in tbe flower and vegetable garden, and for use on a small scale on yooDg trees, was the X. O. dust— a preparation of tobacco and creosote In fine dow- der. Where applied thoroughly with an insect powder bellows or a "puff," It caused every Insect that It touched to drop to tbe ground. In a short time after- word, If desirable, the powder may be blown from tbe plant with the empty bel- lows, or shaken from It by one or two sudden taps. I found it best to apply when the dew was off, as it was less dlshguring to the plants.
A dilute kerosene emulsion is also very effective against plant lice, and almost every species, except that Infesting the chrysanthemutn, yields to the power of the California Bubach or Pyrethnim powder. These little insects, subslstlDg on sap, which they obtain by the insertion of tbelr needle-like beaks deep into tbe
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330 STATE HOBTIODLTURAL SOCIETY.
vegetable tiBSnes, nre not affected by ttie treenlcal mixturea, aod it le of no hh to spray Infested plants wltb Paris green or London purple.
Among the larger iniects whtob attraoted mucti attention In diSerent parts of ttie State, and were sent me ^m other states si well, were several species of gre- garious caterpillars, which were very destruotlve to shade and orchard trees. CoDSpicuonB among these were the common web-worm, the greea-ttrtped maple- worm, the willow and poplar spinner, the blaclc-necked and the yellow-neeked Datanas and the red-linmped apple-tree caterpillar.
The wel>-worm ( Syjihantria cunea, Drary) occurs throngbout the country and ftedson the foliage of a great variety of trees. It Is often called the "tent cat- erpillar," but It differs widely from either of the true teot caterplllAre. The eater- pillar of the web-worm is much lighter colored, and when full grown only about half the size of the others, and, to quote from Prof. BUey's third report, ' 'it hiber- nates In the papa state, they In the egg state ; It occurs mostly in the fall, they In the spring ; Its eggs are deposited on a leaf and hatch before the leaf falls, theirs are deposited around a. twig, because they liave to pasa the winter and would get lost with the leaves If deposited npon them ; It feeds solely oa tbe parenchyma of the leaf under Its web, they devour the whole leaf outside of their tent."
la tbe New England States, where the habits of the web-worm were drat studied. It Is only single- brooded, Its webs not beln^seen on the trees until August or September, hence Its name of fall web-worm . In the latitude of Missouri and southward it Is invariably two-brooded— tbe webs appearing on the trees In June and again during late summer and early autumn. This Insect has a large number of natural enemies, such as birds, not Including the English sparrow — toads, pre- daceoas b-igs and parasites, wbfch mostly attack It after it has deserted Its web and Is wandering aboiit In search of a suitable spot In which to effect its transfor- mations, tio long as It remained under Its web It was, until recently, compara- tively safe from molestation. l>urlng tbe past summer, however, an enemy was found "within its borders" that threatens to wage npou It a war of extermination,
I had observed that tbe webs, of which there were an unusual number during June, In and around KIrkwood, were unnsnally small, many of them never extend- ing over more than a single tuft of leaves. As I was about to Investigate the mat- ter, I received a oommunlcatlon from Hr. J. C. Duffey, hortlcaltnrist at Shaw's garden. Informing me that he had found the larva of a small carabld beetle living under the same tent with the web-worm and destroying the worms. Accompany- ing the letter was a box containing a web with Its usual occupants and, besides, a numl>er of speclmenB of an exceedingly active, though small, dark-colored carabld larva. Placing the Insects in a cage upon my table, I was very soon able to verify Hr. Duffey's Interesting and Important observations. This little creature, not more than half an Inch In length and one-tenth Inch In diameter, would not hesi- tate to attack a nearly full-grown caterpillar, biting Into Its side or back, sometimea almost severing It In the course of Its meal, the violent contortions of Its victim t>elng unavailing to loosen its fierce and relentless hold .
Desirous of learning whether It occurred in KIrkwood also. T Immediately ex- amined a number of deserted webs, Rndlng much olrcnmstantlal evidence In favor of Its presence, but none of tbe Insects. The appearance of the second brood of the weI>-worm was awaited with much Interest, In order to note whether there was a second brood of the attacking larvse also. To my great satisfaction 1 fonnd sev- eral in the very first web examined, and, later, very ftw colonies of tbe worma seemed to enjoy Immnnitj' from them.
.y Google
WINTER MBETlNa AT CLINTON. 331
In tbe (DeBnttnie both Mr. Daffey knd mtrgelf had obtained the perfeot Inaect, a small, flattened, shlnlDg, dark-brown beetle, that was kindly detennined for me by Dr. Riley as PlocMomuK fimidvt — the specific name very aptly reftrrlng to lt» rapid, furtive moTementa and Its habit of concealing Itself dnrlDg the day-time.
This larva, that laandoabtedlydentined to prove snchabenefiictorto the arbori- enltBrlst. Is, as I have said, one-half Inch in length wben fall grown, the form being mach like that of n miniature alligator. Tbe surface Is smooth, the groand color a dingy white, but with almost the entire uppersurfaoeof each Joint dull black, and a row of smaller black spots along each aide. Thehead,and two homy plates oovering tbe tops of tbe Sret and seccwd Joints, are reddish brown, the small, strong Jawa being armed with need te-like teeth. Tbe papa Is of a transparent white color, and is sometimes found in the folds of withered leaves, in the web, and sometimes con- cealed onder rahblsh on the surface of the ground.
I have Dot been able to learn over how wide an area of the state it appeared this year, but from obBervations made in llllnots and Indiana during Angust, I found that It bad not spread much to tbe eastward of St. Loula.
As Mr. Duffey wished to use tbe insect as tbe subject for a aclentlflc thesis, [ will reserve any further notes on the apecles until after tbe publication of bis paper, which has recently been read before the St. Louis Academy of Science and wiU ahortly be printed.
In some parts of the State, and especially in and around tbe city of Sedalla, tbe ravages of the green-atrlped Uaple worm (the larva of Anisota rubieanda) were notably severe and extensive on the popular shade tree from which they are named. These worms hatch from clusters of small yellowish- green eggs depoalted by the parent moths during the month of Hay, on the under aides of the leaves. They feed upon the yonng leaves during June, eating all parts except the midrib and some of the principal veins. Whtin full grown they are an inch and a half In length and of tbe thlckneasof an ordinary lead pencil In the middle, from wbloh they taper slightly In both directions. They are striped longitudinally, in alternate bandn of light and dark green, and from =the top of tbe second joint two small black horns project forward over the head.
About the flrat of July theae worma disappear ftom tbe trees and enter the ground. Here, three or four Inches below tbe surface, they change to a rough and characteristto dark brown chrysalis, which toward tbe end of the month works itself upward through the soli, and, splitting near the forward end, allows the escape of the moth . The latter expands rather more than two inches, and Is very delicately colored in pale yellow, more or leas banded and shaded with pink. This moth almost immediately lays its eggs for a eecond brood, and by tbe middle of Angust the trees are again covered with tbe voracious worms, which destroy all their beaaty and their value as shade-producers fbr tbe remainder of the season, and. In tbe case of young trees, seriously Interrupt their inowtb. This brood of worms enters the ground in September and hibernates In the pupa state. Its life cycle being completed by the appearance of tbe moth about the first of Hay. The yonng worma are subject to the attacks of several iparaEltea, and the latter are often so numerous on the second brood Ibat but comparatively few survive, and consequently the insect la seldom noticeably destructive for two snccesaive aeasona. In some mysterious way It recalls Us ranks every few yeara, probably when atmos- pberie or other oODditloDB are adverse to the multiplication of its insect enemies. Tbe soft If aples (Attr datyearpum and A . rubrum) are the most subject to attack, but other trees, such as the Box Eider (Negundo aceroida) and the oaks, are oooa- lionally defoliated. I do not know that "spraying" baa ever t>een usedagalns
ugle
332 BTATB HOaXIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
these Maple worma, but where the trees are not too large. 1 have no doubt that the use of the arseDtcal insecClcldeB or the kerosene emnlaioii would so effectually root the first brood that there would be very few left to perpetuate the eeoond.
There occurred also during the past summer, not onlj In Missouri, but In all the neighboring dtatet, a notable outbreak of two other oloaely-allled speoles of large caterpillar, viz.: the yellow-necked and black-necked DatanaefDa^anoJtftneifra and Datana Angusii) . These worms, when fall-grown, are more than two Inches In length, c;llndrlOBl, gailf'Stilped In cream white or pate yellow and black, and spartoly elothed with long white hairs. They are very gregarious, feeding side by side, clustered on the under side of a leaf, nibbling It tiom the edge inward, and when one leaf is devoured moving in a body to another. Thoy also rest In com- panies on the limbs and branches, and assume a very peculiar position , ollngtog to the tree with the abdominal prolegs, with the fore and hinder ends of the body held aprighi at right angles or curved over the back. In moulting thay partly descend the trt«, all at once, and rest in a body on the trunk, to which they leave attached their cast skins when ready to resume feeding. Upon oomplettng their growth they erawl down the trunk In procession and, one after another, enter the groond, Btlll keeping together as much as ts possible. They appear in Jaly, feeding for about six weeks. The species Datana Anguiii i3r. was especially destructive to the walnut, often entirety denuding the trees, no doubt seriously Injuring, If not killing, many of them — the trunks presenting a disgusting speotaoie, covered, as they were, with the numerous oast skins. Late in September the black-necked form appeared on the oaks In and around Kirkwood, but, as It was late In the season, the defoliation -did no serious Injury.
Speolmene of still another gregarious caterpillar have been sent me from Southern Missouri by Mr. A. W. Gilbert for several snooesslve years. This Is rather a striking larva, and is called the Bed-humped Prominent {(£d»miuia eandama). It feeds upon apple preferably, but is also occasionally found upon plum, cherry and pear. Like the epeolee previously described, this insect feeds In companies and rests In rows along the branch which it has denuded. The body is striped length- wise, in fine, white, yellow and black lines, and has a double row of black points on the back and another row on each side. The head is bright red, and on the fourth Joint Is a hump of the same color. The hinder part of the body tapers sharply and is always held in an elevated position. When disturbed, these caterpillars emit an offensive fluid which doubtless repels their enemies, both birds and other insects, to whose attacks they would be peculiarly liable on account of tbclr habit of con- gregating in large groups In exposed situations, in thU State this insect is double brooded, the worms appearing In June and In August. The moth Is very variable In shade, being either of a pale brown or grayish color, prettily variegated with lon- gitudinal brown and purplish streaks, with a conspicuous eye-like spot on the lower margin of the wings. The antenna are feathered and the legs tufted. They un- dergo their transformations on the surface of the ground or Just beneath It. Un- less very numerous, the worms can easily be kept In check by cutting off the branch on which they are congregated. If abundant, spraying with Paris green or London purple would undoubtedly break up their ranks.
It Is a well-known fact that many of our insect foes are Immigrants from Europe and other foreign countries. Dr. Riley, In his second report on the Insects -of Missouri, published nearly twenty yean ago, enumerated aboat thirty species of destructive Insects that had come to us from Bnrope alone. This list Included such
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WINTBB UEETINO AT OLIHl-OH. 333
tttst-clasH pestB as the HeBsi&n flj, the Gratn apbls, the Cattbftge aphis, the Godltng moth, the Currant worm, the Meal worm, the Asparagus beetle, the Cabbage but- terfly and others. Since that time scarcely a year has passed In which the advent of some new foe has not been registered, so that th« earlier list ts nearly doubled at tlie present time. Nor Is It from Europe alODe that we are receiving those nnwel- come guests. Aftica, Asia and Australia are beginning to contribnte to our insect r&ana. Some of these Insects, owing to their habits an<t the more frequent ex- change of the products they Infest, are Tjery rapidly disseminated over the entire country ; while a few, from which our eastern friendB have been suffering for several years, have not yet approached the Mississippi valley. But unless we take palDS to EDsrd against them, their appearance In our fields, orchards or store-bousus is a mere qoestlon of time; while a most dlscoaraglng phase of the matter Is that all Imported Insects seem to obtain new vigor and redoubled destructive power as the etfect of our climate and more abundant food supplies. Many of them also acquire atastefora variety of plants, and even If kept in check on the crops usually af- fected, they are enabled to perpetnate themselves on others upon which we do not sDspect their presence. The Imported Cabbage worm (Pierit rapes) is an example of this, as it now feeds and develops upon more than a dozen cultivated plants and weeds (many of them not even belonglDg in the order Cruaferw) which it was not rormerl; supposed It would touch.
Within the last two or three years two Insects la particular have appeared In the Eastern states which It behooves db to guard against most carefully. One of these is the ' ' Born fly" {Hfemalobia aerraia), a cattle pest of the moat nefarious character. As this possesses an indirect if not a direct Interest for Che horticulturist, I beg per- mission to devote a few moments to Its consideration. It Is a small, dark, two- wlngtd fly about one-half the size of the honse fly. It oongregates In immense swarras on the heads, shoulders and under parts of the body, having the instinct to select positions out of reach of the tail, and also from which it cannot easily be dis- lodged by rubbing. It derives Its common name from Its habit of clustering around the baseof the horns In a dense mass. Its bite Is very irritating, and the suffering cattle are at times almost maddened by its attacks, and dash wildly about their pastures in their efforts to escape ftom It, losing flesh and giving but scant sup- plies of fevered mllb. As It makes its appearance In May and continues until f»>Bt, It will be seen that It Is no Insl^lfloant enemy of the herdsman and dairyman. Horses and mules are annoyed by It to some extent, hut Its preference Is for horced cattle. The flrst account of the tnseot was published In "Insect Life" for October, 1860, bot Dr. Biley and some of his office assistants had been engaged in studying Its habits for nearly two years previous, and a complete history of It Is given In the department report for 1888-90. It has been Identified with a cattle pest longknown In Enrope, and Is supptraed to have been introduced into this country with cattle imported (torn France and Holland. It was flrst observed hi tbe neighborhood of Philadelphia, but la already established along the seaboard of the middle Atlantic states. It has not yet made Its advent In the West, but unless the most careful precautions are taken by Importers of cattle, It will surely manifest itself In our midst to make bovine life a burden and raise the price of beef.
Another Insect which Is supposed to have been Introduced into Massachusetts with some sllk-producing species, with which a gentleman was experimenting a number of years ago, has recently excited serious alarm In some portions of the State, by Its wholesale ravages on the foliage of fruit and fbrest trees, as well as upon many kinds of herbaceous plants. This insect Is the Gipsy moth (Oeuo-ia ditpar), one of the most dreaded pests of Europe. Prof. C. H. Femald, Entomolo-
33i STATE HOETIODLTUBAI. SOOISTT.
^■t of the Agrlcnltnrtt college and Bsperlmeot itAtlon of UMaftcfametts, pub- lished B full account of It In the Station balietln for Janaary , 1880, proving its IdflDtttj with the EaropeaD Bpecleg, and tracing up tbe hletoiy of its acclimation In thla country. During Che pMt Bummer Us ravages were so eerere wtd the dan- ger of ItB spreading to other sections of the State and ooaotiy so Imminent, that eapeclal government aid was Invoked for Its extermination. The moths are rather large and handsome, expanding fh>m one and one-half to two and three-fourths inches, the females t>elng much larger than the males. They are of a pale yellow cr yellowlsh-whlte color with dark-hrown crose-Unes and spots, and tlie antennm are prettily feathered. Prof. Fernald thus desoilbed the caterpillars: *'Wben full .grown they are about an inch and three- roorths In length, very dark brown or black, finely reticulated wltb pale yellow. There Is a pale yellow line along tbe middle -of the baok and a similar one along each side. On the first six segments following the head there Is a bluish tnherole armed with several black spines, on each side of tbe dorsal line, and on the remaining segments these tnberdeB are dark crimson red. On the middle of tbe tenth and eleventh segments there Is a smaller red tubercle notched st tbe top. The whole surface of the body Is somewhat hairy, but along each side the hairs are long and form quite dense clusters."
The papa is of a chocolate brown color about tbree-fburths Inch long, bus- pended in an open net-work of silken threads In the fold of a leaf or among a dus- ter of leaves. The moths emerge during summer and lay ihelr eggs In dusters -on the branches and twigs of trees and shrubs. The Insect hibernates In this egg state, and the caterpillars hatch the following spring.
Anotherinsect, of especial Interest to peacb-gro vers, is not uollkely to reach us some dty from the Pacific coast. This Is a species of Oarpoeapia, dosely allied to our codling moth, and Is one of the principal enemies of the peaoh in japan. As It works in tbe fruit almost cootluuously ftom June to September, it Is dlfBcult to tell whether there are two or three distinct broods. The larva Is much like our apple-worm, and works around the stone, causing tbe ftnlt to decay or to fall pre- maturely, ff ben full-grown it leaves the fruit and spins a cocoon under an; con- venient shelter. In these days of rapid transit, nothing Is more likely than the introduction of this insect into California, by means of the steamers entering ber ports, which presumably fUmlsh to their passengers Japanese peaches as a dessert fruit. Prof. Alley has this Insect under conslderatloo, and Is In correspondence with a Japanese eotomologlst in referenoe t<i Its life history, and the practicability -of spraying with Ihearsenltes to diminish its unmbers. " Foie- warned " ought to be " fore-armed " In this case.
I will mention bat one more species in tbe list of insects against which we must be on our guard. This one is not a foreigner, but "to the manor bom." I refer to that pern Icloos pest tbe "apple-maggot," which Is even more destrnctlve to dur staple ftult than the codling moth. It Is tbe larva of a pretty little smoky-winged fly, sdentlfically known as Tryptta pomonella.
More than twenty years ago Mr. B. D. Walsh, the pioneer State Entomologist of the West, worked np the history of this insect, and proved that It occurs In all parts of the country In our native crab and tborn apples; and yet, strange to say. It Is In tbe New England States only that It has acquired tbe habit of feeding on the onltlvated apple— driven to the latter, perhaps, by tbe scarcity of its accustomed wild fruits. The fiy lays Its eggs upon the ripening fruit, which the larvse, upoo hatching, bore Into and tunnel in all directions, nntll the entire apple is a mass of corruption and falls to tbe ground. When full-grown, the short, tblok, legless mag- gots burrow Into the earth to change, where they remain over winter and until late
VINTF.B UBETlNa AT OLIHTON. 336
In tbe spring before ^vlng forth the By. Thia apecies U bnt alngle-brooded, but 1b imgnlar In development, and to oorera the entire period of the ripening of the apple. There la not mnch danger of Ita IntroductioD among as In ehipmenta of frnit tiom the Eaat, beoanae before the packing aeaeon arrives It baa moBtly left the fruit and enteied the ground. In dlaoasalng thla matter, not lonf{alnee, with Ur, Bllef , I mentioned our Immanlty from this Iniect aa a matter of congrata)atlon, bnt vac oOQSlderablf taken aback when Informedthat the apple-feeding race waa slowly bnt anrelj advancing westward, having already appeared tn certain localltlea in Ohio and In Intermediate territory. That Ita migration maybe Intermpted by a careful watch for Ita advent, and the complete destrnctlon of every fruit showlDg the least sign of being Infected, la quite possible; but that snfflciPDl care will be taken to do this Is more than donbtful, nnleas the State or Station Entomologlata of those States upon whleb It Is beginning to encroach give their personal anper- vislon to Its eradication.
A single concluding word In regard to spraying. My own limited experi- ments, and thoae of others that have come ander my observation, have not satlsfled me that there Is a snfflolent per centage of gain In fi'itlt saved topayfor the expense In labor aod material, while the resalta of the use of acrid poisons upon the vege- table tlssnes cannot bnt be Inimical to the healthfhlness and longevity of the tree . The foliage of Che peach, and to some extent of plum and cherry also, Is always mnch Injured by tbe arsenltes, and even apple leaves have a dull and unhealthy look after two or three drenchlngs with Paris green or Tjondon purple, even when used at no greater strength than one pound to two hundred gallons of water.
1 And, however, by extensive Inquiry, that the process is gaining In favor with those owning large commercial orchards, bat as there Is usually no means of com- parison. It is dif&calt to estimate the exact amount of fruit saved. It would seem almost useless to apray apples after they have tamed down, as the moth always seeks the calyx end for the deposition of her eggs, and. In a drooping position, the larva could easily make Its way Into the fruit without coming In contact with the poison. With very carefbl management the fluid may, of course, be forced against the calyx end of the fmlt, even after tt has begun to droop ; hot unleas one has for an object the eradication of the codling moth from hia orchard, regardless of ex- pense and of temporary Injury to the treea, he cannot afford to spray every two or three weeks daring the entire summer. And if he should be thus thorongh, and his neighbors were not, It would not avail to keep hU orchard clear of pests another year.
In reply to a question on this subject, Dr. Goslin writes; "The codling moth was very bad with us. Hr. Hurray and myself were the only onee who attempted to spray, and we were deceived. We sprayed In Hay and again In June, and about July I we carefully examined our orchards and could And scarcely any (of the worms), and we bellavedltunneoessary to spray In July; but when August and September came, they aeemed to increase very rapidly np to the time of gathering. The early apples were almost tne ft'om the moth, but the winter fruit waa badly Infested. Our enthusiasm la somewhat cooled, yet I believe If we had sprayed In Jnly and again la August, the results would have been satisfactory. If I am spared another year, I will teat this matter more fnlly. We must light this pest, or apple -growing will not be profitable."
It la rather discouraging that so much doubt still remains and experience is still ao conflicting as regards tbe utility of tbe ■rsenlcal spray for the fTult-feedlng pesta. Its value for leaf-feeders is established, bnt In tbe case of these It does not require to be used more than once or twice during the season. If It mast be used
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336 STA.TB HUKTIOOLTVEAL SOOIETY.
coDtinuouBlr ejoTj two ar tiiree weeks from Ha^ to September, tbe peroeDtage of fruit Raved will not cover the ezpenie of tbe repeated appItoattotiB. Then there la the direct danger of aach frequent handling of deadly poiBoas to be taken into considentiOD ) also the Inevitable Injary to the tree and the neceaalty of esclnding poultry and other animals ft«in the orchards treated. Altogether, 1 more than ens* pect tbat foroodllDg moth and cnrcnilo, the remedy still remalni tobefoaod.
FEBBONAL ASSOCIATION. C. I. ROBArna, butlkk. There Is an ancient legend to the effect that Mldaa, King of Phrygla, for some favor bestowed by him upon the Qod Baccline, was offered the granting of any wish that he might propose. The king's request waa, bo tbe story goes, that every- tblDghe touched might be transmuted Into gold. Forthwithashetakeahtsseatatthe table to et^oy Us evening repast, tbe fish upon the platter becomes • solid gold«n fish, the bread between his fingers becomes a wedge of gold, and the rare old wine in hts goblet runs down his thirsty throat a stream of liquid gold. The king, re- penting ot his rash and foolish choice, appealed to Bacchus, who Id compaaaion took away the fkui gift. Moral— " Though gold may have Us use's, there are better things than gold.'
Useful knowledge that may Instruct as what to seek and how to rightly use our faculties and poesesslona may be better than gold. The world Is full of knowledge. The preaent times are suicbarged with new and wonderful developmenta. and he who reads or he who listens can acquire a store of knowledge greater than he can use or apply, unless he distributes or imparts to those whom he may benefit.
While man is laboring to invent new devices and improvements, nature in these recent times startles the highest inventive genius by her unaided bestowal of unexpected gifts and magnificent developments. Only a few years since the people of this civilized portion of tbe earth were groping in semi-dsrkneSH at olght, re- lieved occaslcMially by expensive and imperfect manufactured lights; but suddenly, without the aid of man's Inventive genius, natum sends to her surface material for light, so brilliant as to eoUpae the combined pc^wers of all artificial ligbu. Nature Is progressive. Unaided and unasked, she exceeds man's highest eflorta and ex- pectations by ber gratuitous bestowal of wonderful gifts and transformations.
Ten years ago it was not generally believed or admitted that supplies of flow- ing water could be obtained by means of artesian wells In the valley of the Hlssla- eippl; hut in answer to the bold and energetic efforts of the people of Clinton, Missouri, all the world was made to know that the water supplies of tbe West are Inexhhnstlble.
Not alone In the mineral kingdom, however, do we behold wonderful develop- ments. In the field of horticulture we find each year new surprises to convince us that He who made all things Is greater than the creataie ; that not only can He cre- ate, but that He can perfect.
The rose that my grandmother thought the Idealof beauty in ber girlhood, the rose that bloomed eo delightfully all through the month of June, hsa gone entirely out of fashion , and no longer admits of any comparison with Its bigh-bred sucoeasor that flashes Its nnequaled beauties all summer on every beholder, and scatters its perfumes on every breeze e'en up to the ^osty air of mld-Kovember. Down Id tbe paatare where 1 used to go to drive the cows when I waa a boy we found straw- berries, and their sweet odor lingers in my memory yet ; but I think tbe remem- bij^nce of their delightful fragrance made a more permanent impression on me
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WIKTEB MBBllNO AT OLINTON. 337
becsDBe, unfortunately, tbeir odor was nearlf all tbere was of them. It aeems to me DOW It would take about alzteen of those primitive berrlee to mak« one of tbeee latter da^ sorts.
Tbere wns tbe long-neoked strawberry and tbe sbort-necked, tbe woods strftw- berry and tbe Seld berry ; but wbere would tbe biggest of tbem etaad, or bow could the best of them hold up tbelr heads by tbe aide of a slx-lncfa Sbarpless, Qandy or Jessie ?
In the memory of every horticultural reader and grower we know that Kawla Janet waa a abort time ago the most popular and most extensively planted winter apple Id all this great (Southwest, but nature set herself quietly to work and evolved an all-purpoae and an all-climate apple that yet stands agaluat all critics at the head for profit. I allude to the much-abused bnt triumphant Ben Davis. All these results are nature's evolutions freely offered ; and It appears to me tbat if we would seek, accept and retain tbe beat that nature offers, we would be sufficiently progreaslve. Let nature lead: It will require all our physical and mental activity to keep pace with her. If we believe then that nature is tbe beat Inventor and most generous giver, how can we best select her most useful gifta ? ,
How may we dlacrlmlnate between the values of productions so as to select only those which arc most profitable? Certainly, not invariably by reading popu- lar horticultural Journala. These ohannels of communication and the catalogues of the land Informed me tbat a new and remarkably valuable fruit had been discovered, known as the Russtau mulberry—" fruit large, productive and sweet." The trees all grew, and the fruit excelled tbe leaves in number, but the birds will forever be my only pickers. Then the books Informed me tbat a wonderful plnm had recently been discovered, known as the Blackman. The tree was the finest grower I ever taw, except the Carolina poplar. I tried to dUcover whether the tree waa tryin); to be a peach or plum; but to convince meof Ita family they aent me a remarkable picture, and that conviaced me tbat It wae to he a plum. It hloomed—I mean the tree — and Its blosaom waa tbat of a plum, but It didn't do anything more except to grow, and then they told me It was a failure. But who wants to cultivate failures? I am sure I don't.
Outt thing I have discovered after long experience and some loss, and that Is that men will not deceive face to face aa they will in print. There Is an Influence of soul upon soul, of mind upon mind In personal association that causes men to unbosom their honest convlctlona, and surpasses any other means of elleitlog tbe truth. There Is, in the presence of each other, an Influence of accountability that enables them to resist tbe Influence of nnlawfal greed, and stand forth as honest men. In &1I commercial relations we find more aatlafactory resulta by peraonal presence.
Corree pun donee by letter or oommunlcatlona In print, are liable to miscon- struction or misrepresentation ; but in the presence of each other, every gesture, every look and the indeflnable Influence of one's presence, bring to aid an Influence to decide not only more promptly, but more satisfactorily.
By personal association wltb those engaged in kindred occupations, we not only obtain the beneflts of practical object-lessons, but we may receive new Incen- tives to action by witnessing the results of their successes.
We must ctreulate among each other If we would receive the benefits of health- ful growth in our profession. We are to each other what the life-blood Is to tbe ■ystem .
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STATE HORTIOULTUBA1> SOCIETY.
WHAT I HA.TB LBAUNED IN MY TBAYSL8.
J. M. RICE, S4RC0XIE.
What I bave learned, I must conresa, whtle much to me, wUl poistblr be bnt email IntereBt to yon, for as a learner 1 am at beet a poor acholar and at or j- teller. However, the Secretary may have bad mj horticultaral experience wben be placed me In the predtcament of trying to tell It to 70Q
Tbe acleuce of horticulture ban aever worried me ranch, but the bualneaa of It baa glTen me an experience of Ute that I And Is practical!; the experience of otfaera all over tbe United States, who have found a white elephant on their hands when thef thought they owned aa orchard. 1 will venture the aeaertlon, however, that we bave all learned that the great problem that coQfronts tbe frolt-growera of to-day la tlint of transportation.
After two mllllona of horticulturists bad mastered the science of fruit culture, nod were ready to reach out for their reward, they saw a transportation company anatcb the prize tmai them, and laugh at tbeir misfortune and penury.
At tbe national meeting at Austin, Texas, last Pebmary, I met gentlemen thus oppressed {rom every section of the United States.
The corporation octopus had apread Its tentacles ail over tbe country and was choking the Indaatry Into submisaion, and left It fallen and proatrated mid tbe most fmltful fields blighted by an unholy alliance commerce had made with corporation greed, sanctioned by law and covenanted by I aw- makers.
Ten milllona of horticultural prodacts are wasted annually because of the lack of ample and adequate tranaportstlon facilltlea, and the greateat of industries, worthy of governmental protection, was partially and sometimes wholly ignored, and left to the hap-hazard methods of individual eHort to market hia product and realize upon the fruits of bis labor.
1 have had a presentiment from association with many bortlculturiats that tb«y are possessed of the national sin of American agriculturists— distrust of each other by failure and refnsal to cooperate for the betterment of their condition, flnsnclally aa well as aooialty.
I believe those who, by .supine inactivity, are guilty of contributory negligence of their best interests will tie Impressed only with their real privileges wben they have learned all the bitter lessons that bitter experience— the real tutor of us all- has opened their eyes to their mistakes.
It Is conceded by all that, among other things that most oppress us as pro* ducers, are exorbitant railroad ratea. outrageona express rates, refrigerator-car ayetema, dishonest commission men, slow movement to market, Improper handling and unorganized distribution. These arc the giants men shrink f^om encountering, and, like a lot of primeval hortlculturista Uoses sent to poaaesa the vineyards of Canaan, came tiacic bearing a buiich o! grapes on a pole between two men. and reported that it was Indeed a fruitful land, but was owned by giants and the sons of Ana1t .
These sons of Anak are tbe giants of commerce to-day, existing beomuse tbe faith of men who raise pomegranates and grapes Is so small that a mustard-seed would hold ten thousand such faithless souls, and then they would rattle.
now long we will permit the sons of Anak to occupy the land the Lord hath given us, is the burning question of the bonr.
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WINTER HBBTING A.I OLINTON.
TBB RBIMDT.
Tnvel wltb our grlevaDoee to headqanrtera. Let goTernmental legUlattoQ clothe tbe InCerstute Commerce commlsaion with the sdine Jurledlctton to control rates bj* eipreei companies as It does railroads, over whose highways they do basl- UMs, and subject them to tbe operations of laws governing all transportation com- paales posseaaed of the right of eminent domain.
Enlarge the Jarlsdlctlon of the ifltate Railroad Commissioners in this respect, or bj special enactment Of tbe Legislatare, giving hill and competent Jarlsdlctlon over express companies doing bnslness in tbe State .
Adopt a refrigerator system of oars to all long-distant points, and grow suffi- cient acreage at each gtalpplng station to load at least one oar per day ; thus by thoroagh and effective organization meet tbe discrimination of express companies by an active and vigorous policy, and by protests to tbe traffic managers of rail- roads ; show the extent of the actual business done and prospective baslness to be done under a liberal support of tbe railroad line Interested equally with us In tbe full developmeot of business, mutually proQtable II reciprocal.
By organization of the Southwest Missouri fruit-growers, oomposing several counties, last season thirty-nloe cars of atrawbercles were handled over three dUTerent roads not prorating with each other, consigned from seven different points, shipped to Pueblo, Denver, Omaha, Lincoln, UlDneapolls and St. Paul, using the California fruit-car at a cost of -2S oenta perorate, or about {160 per oar In addition to the freight. We succeeded In obtaining ti.li per crate on a day when other berries were sold for the freight, and when the rains set in later In the season, when the berry shipments all over the United States were practically too aoft for ehlpmenC, we averaged GU cents net for car after oar. and according to the Chicago bulletins were the only association In the United States that made a dollar. During this new experience, however, we paid the lallroada 97,539.21 freight, and to the Hefrfger&tor Car company $3,318.16 ; besides this obtained three-fourths of one cent per nalle track charges from the roads over whose line they were run. Yet, as expensive as this was, we beat the express rate as follows : To Denver our rate $].S5,expree8 S3.00=S1.1S per hundred, and about the same proportion to Pueblo. Tost. Paul the Saving was $1.30 per hundred, same to Uinneapolls ; to Om aba the saving was over (1.00 per hundred.
Our total receipts were S2S,45(.67, yet it took folly one-half this amount to market tbe crop, the aet being $13,933.66.
We made the commission men pay the expense of the association by rebating ua back 3 per cent of their commission.
A central office was maintained, where the whole business was managed, and any fair man In the association stands ready to be beneflted by onr experience and mistakes.
Tbe Iftbor of procuring rates and perfecting the details of tbe business de- volved on an executive committee that did not cost tbe grower or shipper any- thing but Sl.OO membership fee.
We have a trade-mark of tbe association, wblcb Is to be placed only on first- clasB fmlC in good oocditlon, under penalty, tbe object *of which is to Insure the association from tbe machinations of designing persons, and eEtabllsb a reputation for our fruit that would be creditable and profitable.
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_V
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340 STATE HOETICDLTUEAL SOCIETY.
Every failure has taught ua the mntsbUUyof man, but we hope to Mettaeijs- tem perfected—not too perfect — and when we see the wlngg sprouting on our an- gelic brethreu, we will stop and wait for Gabriel, and will not be purprlsed, how- ever, if Bome man who has out-Ucked a mule, and who ban mistaken bU liver com- plalni for religion, to call him to time, and prance around on hie bind legs If he should toot before he la ready.
THE POOR HOBTICOLTDEIST.
L. GEIGEB, BOONVILL8.
Mr. Praident, Ladia and OenlUmen, Men^trr of the Mimouri State Bortieultaral Socidy : OlanclDg over the Unea of the program of the Thirty-third annual meeting of the Ulesourl State Horticultural Society, wbloh oame to hand Just a week fram to-day, having been mlsmalled. and having seen it again published In the "Rural World " of St. Lonla, in last week's issue, 1 was surprised to find a aubject assigned to mo to be read before your meeting In Clinton, Henry county, Uissonrl. What has caused all tbla? Are there spiteful motives underlaid, or U It to make a con- vert? Nevertbeleas, I shall try to do Justice to the subject, and will exert my beat effbrts In treating of
THB POOB HOBnCCLTUBIST.
A Hhort time ago I saw a'statement concerning thn fr>]lt crop of the United States and the country at large, and Ihere it Is said : "Amiing the fruit-growing States of the United States, poor old UlBsourl Is taking the third rank, only super- seded by the States of New York and Michigan." What good news for ui all : This does not show, seemingly, poor horticulture, nor that Missouri 1b a State inhabited by a great anmber of poor horticulturist a, In spite of all the slander "that life and property are Insecure by Bald Knobbers and traln-robliers."
Glorious Missouri 1 thou art able to show to the world equal to any of your sister States advantages superior to aU in horticulture In producing the Anest and best apple In this blessed part of America, " the United States." And bow beauti- fully are you situated, watered by the tbe great rivers, the Missouri and the Mlssii' sippi and their tributaries, and stiffened by the backbone ot the Ozark ! No portion of your soil is unproductive ; every foot of your esrth is capable of bringing forth wealth and nourishment to sustain life. There Is unseen wealth concealed in your bosom, awaiting the hand to extract It ; happiness and ricbes for tbe tiller of your surface soil.
The art to Improve, to better, to bring forth nicer flowers, better fruits and vegetables, and better Implements, Is called horticulture. Brain, heart and muscles combined In tbe pursuit to improve upon Is a necessary condition to produce good results, and such Is the aim of the bortlculturlst .
But tbe question is on the contrary : Whoever Is not a good horticulturist must be the reverse. So we have to look to tbe one as well as to the other, and learn and teach as well. If knowledge Is a blessing, Ignorancecsnnot be that; and, though there are, Ignorant people very often more bleespd than the learned and refined, conteotment makes happy, and happiness is riches. But you are possessed of tbe best garden, or your orchard brings forth abundant proflts, and you are not contented, you are not happy, and make your wire and children and all your aur- roundlngs feel the same. The poet says: "Kindness It Is that shines from withla and brightens and warms up and makes your surroundings cheerful. "
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VIHTBB XBEIING AT OUNTON. 34t
He&d and heart and bands combined must work together la 7onr garden, orchards and flelds. & One sense of cultnre will and does make a good ImpresaloD upon dwellera of tbe booae, Burroandod In a taatefal garment, clothed the home of the hortloQlturiat with a carpet of bluegrasa and starnbs and fiowera, ornaiSeDted hj stately and loftj trees.
Poor as joa maj be (povertf la no shame), think profonndly, work Inoeasantlj, indnslrioKslT, with confident hope of final success. You mast read hortlcnltnral articles of eminent writers, practical hortioaltarlsts ; 70(1 must oonsalt the most prosreaslve and successfnl hortlcnltnrlit in your Immediate nelghbtirhood ; yon nnst regularly attend the meetings of your friends engaged in horticaltural pur- snlts; yon must frequently visit the homes and gardens and orchards of hortloul- tnrlstH, Inquire Into mattters, and try even to excel yonr neighbor of snoh articles, coromonlr called "truck," or the fruit out of the orchard; keep your garden, yonr orchard, your henry beds, your potato land, etc., in a good state of fertiliza- tion, in proper cultivation ; do your work In aeasonable time ; select and plant good seeds, plants, etc , before the time you need them ; deal with trusty and reli- able arms; plant your fruit-trees, shrubs, berries and flowers as you have been In- fhrmed by yonr trusty, progressive and succesifnl neighbor^ do yonr part well and learn to wait ;Teward will come In a short time, abundantly, and after six days' work, rest on Sunday, go to your church and pay tribute to yonr Maker. If yon are not possessed of any lands, do oot be discouraged; If you are the right kind of a man, yonr landed freeholder will cheerfully assist you ; he will give you all tbe encourage- ment and will furnish all the land you may need for your business and the necessary tools, and help in general.
There Is another kind of poor horticulturist, and I may not be very wrong In presuming this class of horticulturists Is meant In tbe premises, and needs to be looked after.
Not long ago. when In one of Uissouri's great cities, I visited the hortlcnltnral hsU and examined tbe exhibits. My attention was drawn to a party standing be- fore the apple show admiring the different spec 1 mens, which were worth seeing and studying ; but when It came to the final point, ordering from a sllck-tongued f^nlt man, nurseryman, or agent or tree peddler, my best feelings revolted, knowing and being perfectly astlsfled that the party mentioned Is duped and cheated ; now In good hope, but after fruiting time he would ask himself, is that the apple I have seen on exhibition f A worthless article.
This same party would never buy from a home nursery nor from any other acquaintance. l>elng too high-toned to even look at hfs neighboring nnrseryman. who would have gladly sold him stock true to name and good in order, guaranteed to be the same as furnished, and cheaper and better besides. Poor horticulturist. Bometlmes and very otten indeed men possessed of hundredsand thousands of acres of good fertile lands, and money besides, do enga^ la orcharding. Having land enough, why not set out trees enough ? and money enough to bankrupt Jay Gould.
If such men are successful in horticulture, my horilonltQral knowledge Is at an ebb. Haughtiness, vanity, selSshness, Is very often the cause of poor horticulture ; carelessness, negligence. Imprudence, Is a sign of nils-horticulture. And from such men, possessed of landed estates, or Int-go farmers, or slovens, there is seldom a ray of hope of success In horticultural pursuits to be expected. They are the grumblers ; they are misleading a poor— In money — horticulturist ; they are the drawbaoks In bortlcnlture— the poor horticulturists.
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MS STATE BOBTICULTUBAL 80CIBTT.
NUBBEBYUEN'S TRIALS.
' H. J. 1VKBBR, OARDENVIJ.LB.
Lapies and Oenixkubn— I tkiu ver^ eorry that I cannot be with 700 tbU lime, becaoae I have slwaye apeut some of my boat hoars In UTe with the horticultnral ■acietlea.
The enbjeot you have uslgoed to me, called " Nateerymea's Trials," seema to me llbe a high monntalii, and I do not know where to start and where to end .
For the last tweoty-flve years thst I have been in the business, I, for my part, have been tried In so many ways tbat It would take a long time to speali only of myeeir. So, In order to make short worii of it, I must lay that It always tried my pocket-book moie than >ny thing else. No matter how I would worry, and bow mnch pains 1 wonld take, there always would be eomelbtng that should have been otherwise had I known It before. And I see now tbat it will remain eo antil I am oalled away.
Take, for Instauoe, a very wet planting season, where you cannot get a team on the land before it Is too late to plant ; then getting good help to do the work speedily and properly ; and the fan fomes in when everything is In good working order. A strike is iaaugnrated, and away goes your help, leaving yon in a lurch. Next, as It frequently happened, a railroad strike sets things upside down.
But tho worst trial comes In when you have spared no time and expense to get the very best of varieties to propagate from, and think that now you have a list that certainly will sell In three years from the time they are planted In nursery. Now, when the stock is salable, what do we hear ? Only tbat some horticultnrai societies have passed the death warrant on just the kinds we were sure of three years ago .
Now, what must we do to get at least enough for that stock to dig It up and burn It In order to make room for something else to take Its place, and then run the same risk again? The only way that I can see Is to seU to a tree dealer who has a good chance of making Just the kind people want, get the money and skip out.
If onr horticultural societies could tell us Just what people would want three years from now, we would be greatly relieved, becaaee It takes no more to propa- gate one variety than another. All we would like to know. Is wbst will the people want? and thatie hard to tell under the circumstances.
ForinBtance,iravariety of fruit falls to give satisfaction for three 01 Ave years insuecesatoa, it la discsrded and the treesare cutaway, isbould, however, aspecimen be left, and It would bear a rail crop for several years, then the question will arise, where can I get such a variety again?
Nnrserymen are not to blame if they have none in stock. I }iave cnstomers who bring me specimens of fruit that I was well acquainted with when a boy forty years ago, they being turned oat on account of new snd better varieties. Now they are wanted again. iLIke a woman's ixinnet. tt gets new when it gets old.)
This reminds me of a flock of geese In the spring or fall. When the weather changes you see them with one In the lead and all the rest following. They are hardly out of sight when the wind turns Its course and you see them coming back in the same manner- so they go forwsrd and backward until they reach their des- tination , but not to tiay.
Several years ago the cry was, down with the Ben Davie, ' ' I would as soon eat a sponge as a Ben Davis." What do they say now? "Dear nurseryman: Can you furnish me with 10,000 Ben Davis straight, and at what price?"
by Google
WINTBB MBBTING AT CLINTON. 343
If we eonld bftv« known Ih&t three, or even two fears tgo, we could have btd ftll BeD Davis, and could have sold oat at a profit. Now joa will pleue excuse me If I haye defined the question wrong. To m; notion those ue all nurserymen's trials, and the pocket-book generally tells the story.
floplnc I am not imposlnj; on yonr Tslnable time by saying too maob, I will now oloM and wish you all a prosperous and happy meeting.
NURSBBTMBN'S TRIALS.
[Dadle^tad )>r a brotbcT nimer;maB of twenty- lire yean' expsllence In Illinois m s torsi but-
INDIES AND Obhtlemek : The subject assigned me Is benllderlogi It ta Ilko counting the sands upon the sea-shore.
NuneTymen as a class have done very much to develop horticulture slnco the days of Noah, who was a nurseryman with a very fair record until hla vlney«rd came Into bearing. Then, history Informs nt, he got drunk and neglected hla bus- InesB, and his stock ran down, bis labels got out of place, and bis business went to the dogs.
Nnnerymen may be divided Into three great cUtaea: the local norseryman, the wholesale nurseryuian, and the nurseryman or dealer who sells altogether thioagh the aid of agents, plDtures and fruits magnltled in glaas Jar?.
The local nurseryman la ' 'little " and unknown. He tolls early and late to have hie stock correct, and to have the best that the country afibrds and big trade demands. He Is the beacon light in horticulture to the community, although scarcely known outside of bis county. The people oonte to him for Information, but very often get their trees from the fellow with the pictures and glass jars. The local nuraeryraan, trying to keep Just what the people want, about the time he gets a good assortment of well-grown trees, that have cost hlni much money and labor, bis customers don't want any assortment, but all want one kind. At>out the time tie expects to be able to let up on sixteen hours a day. seven days In a week hard tolling, he tlnda one-third or more of his crop of trees that has coat him two to three years' toll must go to the brush-pile and be turned Into ishes.
It is generally supposed the fellow who sells through agents suffers no losses through not having varieties. He makes varieties very rapidly to suit hla wants and demands. The local nurseryman is the target on which the tree man with an agency Ares all his stray shot, hut he baa a way of doing business that the agent flode hard to adapt himself to, so be finds It necessary to He about him and misrep- resent him; to steal hla trade, he seeks to destroy bia good name for truth and veracity. Yet like Qod's worthy poor, he stays with you always.
Re, too, likes wonderful new things, and SO often gets wonderfully taken In with the appalling yearly supply of new huoibugs. The agent makes a sale to him occasionally of a Lawver apple or a Lawson pear or a tree blackberry. H« then llnde it so much easier to ecll In that community If he can get on the blind side of tblB unsophisticated rural. He then walks with much more elastic step, and says . * I have an order from your local onc-horae^ureeryman."
Of course this so-called one-bor^e nuraetyman hopes it will prove a good thing, and airains every nerve to get a smnll supply to sell at a few cents more than ordinary prices, but by the time he gets a small aupply of this and a half-dozen other new varieties, the bubble has bursted; nobody wants them as a girt; they ■re all but two or three which be plants to go to the brush pile. If be chances to
344 STATE HOBTICDLTUBAL SOCIETY.
sell a h&lf-dozen and tbey do not prove to be yaliiable, lie te accnsed of taking ad- TRDtage of bl§ nelgbbor'a Ignorance fortbe paltrj earn of a few cents, when th« fact la, be ia rapidly filling np bis best grounds experimenting for tbe commnKlty, who no doubt are calling btm a crank.
When spring opens, after three days of sanahlne, his cnstomere, no matter how many, thinkiie ihonld be able to wait on (hem all the same day, and if he should Ikll to get their order otf as aoon at they desire, they will torment bira wllbletter« and telegrams telling him to ship their order at once or cancel It by returning money. They never think that be la working sixteen bouts a day and half the night with all tbe hands he can master to get their order to them in rotation as received, and In time. But nine out of every twelve customen will act as thongh be had but one customer, not atopplog to tblnk that from 60 to IGO orders were In ahead of his. If there should he one tree In twenty-flve plants abort, the chances are he will get a letter that will make hie hair stand on end— the pnrchaaer seldom stopping to think that the poor worked-to-death nurseryman cannot count a hun- dredth part of tbe plants and trees he ships, but must necessarily depend on his help, which is very often not of the beet, but tbe beat he can get.
Nurserymen, as in every branch of hneinesB, must boy aad sell from one another. It is utterly tmpoasible to avoid miatakes occaaionally. Every man that has tried It will testis, but nurserymen are expected In their complicated business to make no errors or mistakes. If he should chance, through clons or buds pur- chased fronj a supposed reliable, careful man, do get mixed, he is often accused of anbetitutlng. Often he could substitute and give bla customer something better were he permitted to do so, but his Judgment Is supposed to be readily warped for the paltry price of the trees be desires to sell them.
The local noraeryman never Kcta credit for half tbe good he does until dead, but he ls,daring a busy life, building living monument)). Bow sadly would we miss the vines and trees around our prairie homes. The trials of a nurseryman cannot be told. It Islike trying to empty the ocean with a tea-spoon. He la apubliotwne- fikotbr; do try and spread a gleam of sunshine upon his pathway. FINAL BE80LUTI0NS.
Your Committee on Final Resolutions beg leave to report tbe following:
1. Amo'd^i^, That this Society tender their heartfelt thanks to the generous citizens of Clinton who have opened their doors and welcomed ua most hospitably to the best tbe land affords.
3. That our tbanke are due and are hereby tendered to the varloua railroad companies who have granted us excuralon rates over their llnea.
3. That our thanks are gratefully tendered to Balrd college for the use of their piano; also, the music and dramatic reel tatlona rendered.
4. Our thanks are also tendered to tbe Committee on Uusic, to Prof. Hall and his associates for the most excellent music rendered).
5. Our tbarika are also due to Mr. Edward Barnbart for a generous collection of green-house plants and Howers for decorating the hall.
6. Our worthy President also desires to express hla heartfelt thanks to Mrs. Edward Barnbart for a beautlFnl basket bouquet.
7. Last but rot leaBt, we tender dUr moat slnoere thanks to the Henry County Horticultural society fur their most aucoeaaful effort in procuring and adorning the city ball for our meetlnga ; also, for escorting us in a body to Balrd college and a ride to the artesian well. J. U . Looan,
S. ff. GlLBBBT.
A. NaLsoM,
Committee.
DigitizEi
bv Cookie
WINTER MBETIITG AT CLINTON. 346
President Evans — Miss Bettie Settle, I am reqaeeted to preeent jaa this plate of preminm Bea Davis apples for yonr most excellent rendering of the " Mule and the itfigger."
( To tbe aadteuce ) : As we are abont to eeparate, I want to say that I feel very mnclt gratified at the snccess of oar meeting. I feel faappy. Each year onr last meeting is always the beet.
CLOSING BBMABEB.
Rev, Mr. Armstrong — I have no long speech for yon to-night. I oordially thank the members of the Horticnltoral society, also the citizens, for the vast amount of information we have received in this session of tbe State Horticultnral society. Some think there is no hell and DO devil, bnt horticnltnrists have to fight the devil in the form of insects, rnst and rot There is a hell in the fntnre, ftom analogy, as there is one in this world.
Yon have had the privilege of meeting with a geoerona and a pro gresBtve people. The people of Olinton have been happy in entertain- ing yon, and now at the close of the program we have to part. I hope we will pnt new energy and resolotion into the execntion of our work for the next year, and that we shall have even a better report next year than we have had this. Let aa every one that can sing join in singing the doxology:
Praise God from whom all bleSBtngi flow,
PralM Him all craatures here below,
Praise Blm above, ye heavenly host.
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Obost. The blessing of Qod the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, one Ood. be with this State Horticnltaral society, with this people and with all people everywhere, forever and ever." Amen.
DEATH OF D. 8. HOLMAN. D. 8. Holman, treatuTer of the Hlssouil ijtate Bortlonltural Sooletr, died at bis home Id Sprlngfleld, Ho., Saturday, December eth Inst., of paralyals. He was bom in Iredell countj, Notth Caroliaa, November 13, 1824, and was slxty-slx years old at the time of bis death. His parents, Lazaroo and Elizabeth Holmsn, moved to Rutberford ooanty, Tenn., when he was eight years old . After remaining there a few years, they moved to Missouri in 1837, settling In Franklin county, where David was educated Id the county schools . He was licensed to preach for tbe M. B. Church South, by the quarterly conference In tbe district embractng the olty of SU Louie. He preached In tbe coantles of Oregon, Crawford and Lafayette. For a time be was put upon the African mission and built a ohnrch for them. He oaAe to SprlDgfleM, spent a year and then went to Jasper oonnty. Hie health failing, be eogaged in the nursery business there In 1860. In 18114 he moved to SprlngBeld and «stabll8hed one of the largest nnrterles in this section. On December 14, 1866, he married BUes Hary, dangbter of Bllwood 8. James, of Carthage, an early settler of Jasper county, who served twenty years as county clerk. Four oblldreu were
846 STATE HOBTIOULIURAL BOOIETY.
born ofBald marrfagQ— RouiB., Sadie L., David l£. &n<l Joy H. Deceaaed was a. Royal Arch Ma«oii, an ofBcer of the Stato Horticultural Society, a Democrat, and wrote ezteoBlvely for tbe Knral World over the nom c(epi«me of "Jot." The offi- cers of the State Hortlcaltnral Society and Mr. A. Nelson, president o( tbe Laclede Count? Bortlonltaral Society, attended the funeral.
Just ae I was preparing this for the printer came tbe ssd news In tbe letter following, and In a day or two the telegram telling of the death of our old friend Patterson. How few of na expected at Clinton that Brother Patterson would be called hence to toon ! Our sympathy certainly goes ont to tbe friends and relaclreB who bave been so qniokly bereaved. Every member of the eoolety will tinlte In oar expression of sympathy.
SECRETAsy,
K1BKSVIIJ.B, Ua, Dec. 28, 1690, 4p. ra. Mr. L. A. QoODUiN :
DeibSir and Prrmd: Fatber bad a paralytic stroke affecting bta entire right aide, which be now has no use of whatever. He Is unoonsclons, can neither see, hear nor speak at present. Was attacked yesterday evening at 6:25. Yours trnly, his son,
E. A. pATTKRaOII.
KiRKsviLLB. Ho., Dec. 31, ISUO. L. A. 600DMAN, Weetporc, Mo.
Father died at 4 p.m. yesterday. .Fnneral Thursday at 10.
K. A. PaTTEBBO!4.
.yCOOglC
MISCELLANEOUS LETTERS, REPORTS, QUES- TIONS AND PAPERS.
MISCELLANEOUS.
Cavendish, Mo., December II, 1890. Mr. L. A. Goodman :
Sir — At a loeetiag in the court-room in Chillicothe on Jnne 17th, the Livingston Connty Hortionltnral society was orjfanized, a consti- tntion adopted, and officers elected to serve for one year. The following officera were elected ; 6. W. Weatherby, president, W, B, G. Hum- phrey, vice-president, M.L.Brooks, secretary, John Hndgins, treasn- rer. The regular meetings of the society are on the second Saturday in Jnne and September, besides adjourned and called meetings. The society have had three meetings eo far, which have been quite interesting; and they had the finest display of fruit at the connty fiwr the first week in October, that has ever been made in this part of the State. But few of the fmit-growers of the connty have joined the society yet, but we hope to see quite an increase in the membership at the next meeting. Out connty is rapidly increasing in fruit-growing, and will soon be one of the leading industries of the connty. About 20 train loads of apples were shipped from Ohillicothe]this fall ;-one buyer shipped 25,000 barrels, another, 20,000, and several others were buying. One of our leading fruit- growers estimated that the apple crop alone of this connty this year was worth $600,000. A good many new orchards will be planted in the spring. Kespeclfully yoars,
M. L. Brooks, Secretary.
GAKTHAaB Mo., November 2, 1890. L. A. Goodman, Esq., jS«cr^ary Miagouri State Horticultural Society:
Dbab Sib — The card you sent me to fill out as " Beport for Octo- ber" was filled out a few days ago, but was forgotten when I went to town. I will send it this week, hoping that it may still be in time to be of some service.
In regard to writing a report for this county for this year, I must say that I don't snppoee I will have time to do any writing of that kind this &11 or winter. I begin work in the county collector's office this
350 BTATB HOBTiauLTUBAL BOCIEIY.
week, and as I have not worked tbere before, I don't know vhetber I will have any spare time or not, bat don't sappose I will, and witboat some time and comparative freedom from otber careH, it is impossible for me to prepare a paper or a report that I woald be willing shonld be read before aa intelligent audience. And besides, the last year's results don't make me feel mncb like writing on hortionltnral sabjects, and especially on those phases of it which are osnally shown ap in snch bright colors. In fact, as for as berries are concerned ( and they are my specialty as yoa know ), the fntnre looks dark and gloomy. I don't want to hear any more to the effect that **the demand is for in excess of the supply," as far sb berries are concerned at least. I think it is all a mis- take to try and indaoe more people to go into the business of growing em^I fruits for the market. However it may be at other places, there certainly are too many of them grown here unless we could get much better rates and focUities for handling the crop, which ia by no means certain, and if we coald, there is no Chicago to send them to, and there* is bound to be a limit to the amonnt that will be taken at prices which will leave a profit to the grower, who is the last one to get his pay if there is any left for him ; which there was not here this year. The ship- ping organization here has been a failure as for as getting good pricea is concerned, and it is hard to tell whether or not it won't be the end of organized efforts in that direction here for some time to come. At present we appear to be all at sea, and know not which way to turn. Of course we have acquired some experience and learned many things that probably will be of service to us if an organization can be main tained on such a basis as to allow of their being made available ; other, wise this year's costly experience. must mostly go for nanght. I wish I could come to the Olinton meeting, but I can not, as I mnst hold my position and try and make all the money I caa honestly until I get in better circumstances, when I hope to attend not only all of oar meetings but also the meetings of other important societies.
If you have any thonghts to offer in regard to a shipping organi- zation here, I shall be more than pleased to receive them. Yours fraternally,
Z. T. Russell.
Bbbmont, MOt November 29, 18tM). L. A. Goodman, Esq., Westport :
Dear Sib — I sometime since received a copy of 33nd annual report of Missouri State Horticultural Society, for which please accept my thanks ; it is interesting and valuable reading, and it is to be hoped
-'8le
HI80ELLANBOITS Pi.PBB8. 351
that the meetings and work of tbe society may bring horticnltnre to dae prominence. I also received blank for October report, bnt had nothing of benefit to report.
I am only growing ft-nit and berries for nse in iny own family, and np to this time hardly enongh for that, bnt am enlarging somewhat in that line.
There is very little frnit grown for market here ; some few have a sarplas of apples, bat they find sile for the SQrpIas among neighbors. Aa to peaches, crops are so few and &r between, that few trees are planted, and these generally neglected. Small fruits and berries conld and should be grown, but few seem to realize how easily they might have them in their season; bnt there seems at this time to be more in- terest in the matter. A few pioneers in the frnit bnsiness In each neigh' borhood would soon create a lively Interest in fruit-growing.
Hoping yon may have an interesting and profitable meeting, I am Yonrs truly,
M. £. Arhbibono.
Secretary L. A. Ooodmak, Esq:
Bead Sib — I am disappointed that I am not able to meet with you, aa I have looked forward to your meeting as a pleasant and profitable occasion. First on account of tbe uuaeaaJ wet weather, and then on account of the extreme drouth, onr small fruit proved unprofitable and oar early apples were almost a failure, bat oar fall rains brought out onr late fbll and onr winter apples beyond all expectation; espe- cially tbe Ben Davis was very fine. This variety has again famished us more market apples than all other varieties combined ; it has been to as what Horace Qreeley denominated the Concord grape, " the fruit for the million."
For several years many of the yonng twigs on our apple and Sibe- rian crab trees have commenced to wilt, and to gradually die back to the. point of union between the present and last year's growth, and by cutting through the bark at this point an appearance is plainly observ- able as if the twig bad been stung. It is nsnally denominated a "sun-blight," but I believe it to be the work of an insect. What say the society t Please pardon haste.
Yonrs truly, H. A.
.y Google
362 STATE HORTIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
Gabbollton, Mo., December 1, 1890. L. A. G-OODMAN, Eeq., Secretary Sortioultural Society MitMourt :
The writer was mach disappointed ia not meeting with ;od, and have a good representation £rom Carroll county. Some people that wanted to meet with you conld not go ; some shoald bare joined that wonid not.
The beet calculation I can make, we have shipped from Carroll county, getting statement from each railroad station in the county, and estimating evaporated frait and canned goods (apples), we have a total of 42,000 barrels. This was not a full crop, bnt the price may have broaght out more apples than wonld have been cared for if it had been less. Evaporators did much to use up culls, and all kinds were ia demand, from packing to cider.
A number of orchards have paid as mach as ( 100 per acre. Those who sprayed their trees while in blossom had almost perfect fruit; paid them a large profit for expense and labor.
We have an increase of small fruit cultnre ; it is growing in volume, quite healthy. Yours,
W. S. Cbodch.
MILLER COUNTY.
Our county is in Central Missouri. Has an outlet to market by a branch of the Missouri Pacific railroad, connecting at Jefierson City. The Osage river runs through the center of the county, and that part is considerably broken ; bnt there is considerable prairie in both the northern and southern portions. The soil and locality are well adapted to fruit-growing, althongh as yet very little attention is paid to it — there being bnt little surplus fruit besides apples, while a large number of farms have but an indifferent supply.
Experience has shown that much of our laud that cannot be cul- tivated to an advantage will grow good crops of fruit if properly man- aged, and much that is only considered as valuable for pasturage could be made more profitable by growing fruit. Itis evident, however, from the large delivery of trees made in the last few years that fanners are taking more interest in this branch of the work ; yet there is certainly plenty of room for improvement. Our county papers keep urging our formers to plant more fruit, and some good will result.
We have no horticultural society, but have a farmers' club that meets once a month at which farm questions are discussed. J. C. Mor- rison is president, and myself secretary.
N. J. Shepherd,
Eldon, Miller Co., Mo.
UISGBLLANBOnS FAFEBS. 353
November 8, 1890. L. A. Goodman, Secretary :
Deab Sib — In reporting the frnit crop for Andrew county, will Bay apples were our principal crop. The qnality was poor; the pro- longed dronth made them small ; I think we had abont one-third of a crop. I am anre we had a traet formed in St. JOe, for they were pay- ing fil.25totl.60 for all apples, nutil eastern bayers came in and began to pay good prices ; then they sent their rnaDers all through the connty and bonght all tbeycoald before the farmers fonnd oat they were scarce, and I W&8 of the namber; sold the middle of Aagust; received only $500 for 900 barrels in the orchard.
As to small frnit, there is a much larger acreage planted every spring ; bnt I have no knowledge of nnmber of acres of each variety. Strawberries were very fine, and were sold in St. Joe as low as $1.25 per crate. Raspberries were winter-killed some, and the first to ripen were good, bat the last of the crop were damaged by the drouth. Blackber- ries were about the same, except they were not winter-killed. There were many acres planted last spring of al! kinds of berries, and they are better eared for than they were years ago.
The good prices paid for apples this fall will etimalate heavy plant- ing in the spring, I think. Very respectfully yonrs, T. F. MiLLBB,
Avenue City, Mo.
LiNNBUB, Mo., ITovember 17, 1890. L. A. UOUDMAN, Westport, Mo. :
Dbab Sib — I have been looking forward and expecting to attend the annual meeting at Clinton, Mo., bat &nd it impossible on acconnt of sickness in my family. Bnt I hope you may have a grand meeting, and when next annual report comes oat that it may eclipse 1889 (but I donbt it), for I consider that the information it contains is equal to ten years' experience saved, and I think the State should appropriate more money for the Soraety's use. Linn county ie taking a boom ia horticultural parsaits. Many tboossnds of trees will be planted this fall and next spring, and then the next thing is to be educated how to care for them, and we look to a great extent for information from yoar noble order. I hope the Society may. favor North Missouri with the summer meeting. In repori 1889, pages 19 and 438, regarding cider vinegar and vinegar law, I think it very important to both producers and consumers ttiat there should be a law made compelling mana&o- turers to brand each barrel just what it contains. I have 100 barrels pure cider vinegar, two and three years old, but even to sell it in Lin- H B— 23
SSI STATE HOBTiaULTUBAL BOCIBTY.
Hens, I have to compete against avid viDegorthey claim cost them nine cents per gallon, inclading barrel and freight The same is sold and even branded "pare cider vinegar," Yon know that pure cider vine- gar made from matnred and free from rotten apples cannot be made for lesfi than fifteen cents per gallon, less barrel and ft-eight. With well wishes, I remain, Yonra tmly,
Chas. J. Dbat.
KSOX COUNTY.
I will here make a short report of the frnit interest of the north- ern part of Knox connty :
Tbe apple crop is rather a short one, considering the early promise of an abundant one. The trees showed a heavy bloom ; a large propor- tion showed a strange behavior: abont two-thirds of the lower portion of most varieties leaved oat and blosaomed properly, while the apper third did not leaf oat antil the lower part was oat of bloom ; then the npper part leaved oot and bloomed as fall as the lower part had done ten days or more before. In the latter end of the bloBSom period we had several killing night frosts, and nearly all of the bloom dropped ofiF, and also a goodly portion of the early bloom, cansing, according to locality, a very short crop, and in some cases a fair crop, owing to ex- emption ^om injary from heavy fi'oste.
Orchards, in this ( north ) part of Enox connty, are mostly small, from fifty to two hnndred trees — more of the former than the latter. There is plenty of frait for home nae, and some for market, althongh there is not one orchard in twenty that receives intelligent care, and yet oar frait is of &ir size and qaality, showing what coald be done with proper care. The codling moth did do some work in the latter end of summer, damaging abont ten per cent of apples. The ronnd- head borer needs close watching ; it will destroy seventy-five per cent of apple trees not taken care of, which is the case with eighty per cent of all set ont in this part of the conntry. In July, all of a sadden, be- fore a person was aware of it, a crop of caterpillars began defoliation of apple Trees, and also of walnnt trees; they resembled the common tent caterpillar, but made no tent. I reported the case to Department of Agricnltare at Washington; they reqnested to send specimens, bat by this time they had disappeared.
We have had longest droath in the twenty-two years I have lived in the State- Trees have made a fair growth, and have a liberal crop of frait-bade for a fall crop. Trees that bore the best crops in my orchard are, first: Ben Davis, then Small Bomanite, Wineeap, Janet;
HISCELLANBOUS PAPBBB. 355
« light crop of early fruit. Early Bed June, Maiden's Blash, S'ortbem Hpy, in the order named. We hod about one-fourth nrop of peaches; -quality fine. Pears, flue crop ; elightly touched by scab ; no other disease. Plums, fall crop ; beet iu the order named, with me, Wild Goose, Forest Boee, Mariauoa — in which latter I am disappointed ; it is a shy bearer and sabject to rot on the tree. Orapea, an abnndant -crop ; good quality ; no black-rot on account of, drouth, the fall rains filling them out to perfection. Strawberries were a fair crop, except lender varieties, like Sharpless, that' were killed by late frosts. Baep- berries, early sorts, fur crop ; late sorts, abont three-fourths dried np -on bushes. I have three varieties of blackberries; first to ripen, Early Harvest, which has proved tender with me, and a very moderate but ■early bearer, beginning to ripen with the Gregg raspberry; not a snc- «esa ; Snyder, nearly all dried up on the bushes ; Eittatinny matored Abont three-fourths of a crop of fine, large berries, bat these last some- times sutFer from our test winters, which do not seem to hart the Sny- iler, bat kill Early Harvest to the ground.
In regard to strawberries, according to my experience, I would place the Bubach No. 5 at the head of the list of a dozen sorts that I have tried. My soil is a dark chty loam, rather heavy, A new begin* ner shoald always inquire ftom some man in his neighborhood, who has a similar soil and climate and exposure, and, if he be a gentleman, he will tell him what kind does best for him, and also what modes of col- tare and care, both summer and winter, are neoessai? for success, I will state an experiment I made the past season on a plam disease, viz., plum-pocket. My Wild Goose and Forest Rose plum trees have been infested with that disease, and I concluded to declare war with the knife, to try and bead it off. I began, as soon as I saw its presence, by nipping or cutting off of all diseased plums or yonng shoots which had a resembling of the cnrled-leaf disease of the' peacb, and bnmed every plam or shoot that showed the disease, and I believe that I have stamped it out, for I cannot see any sign of it on any of my trees at this date, but shall watch for a reappearance, should any .occur.
I woold like to ask a question, and have it answered by yoo, or by discussion at the near meeting, in regard to strawberry plants. I have Always found that a small proportion of plants were barren. Ko matter of what variety, those barren plants will continae to be barren, as also plants grown irom them. As I grow some plants for sale in a small way, I would be glad to hear &om some men of experience on that point, as my experience is rather limited, and which might easily be Avoided by weeding oat all barren plants that show no fhiit in fruit time. All these little occurrences ought to be known and brought oub
356 BTATE HOBTIOULTURAL 800IBTT.
la discaBsioB, bo that parties intereBted coold steer clear of disappoint- ment I woald like to know the saccess of members who tried spray- ing apple trees against the codling moth ; how often spraying is needed to save the crop, and what injnry, if any, to trees reenlted from re- peated spraying, and, what mixture was most effective and the least harmfnl to the trees.
I will bring this, to a close with best wishes for a good and {nter> esting meeUng, and remain, Tonrs truly,
Baring, Enoz Co. Pbtbb Dailino.
Obbick, Ray Co., Mo., Nov. 16, 1890.
Mr Dear Sib : I beg permission to respond to yoar reqaest, as Z find it impracticable to visit your meeting at tliis time, which wonld give me great pleasare, eto.
My brother and I (J. 8. Leake & Bro.) began setting oar orchard A. D. 1880, '82, '83, >84 and >85. Oar apples are mostly Ben Davis. We have oaltivated onr orchard every year in wheat, oats, rye, com and clover. We have manured about our trees and likewise over tbfr entire sorfoce of the orchard. We used horse excrement mostly. Wood ashes, leached or nnleaohed, thrown about the trees, stimdlated wood growth to such an extent that they present the appearance of willow. We were forced to head back to prevent the trees from being broken off by the wind. We have been careful to remove all borers from aU trees. We are now removing all rubbish ftom the base of trees, and whitewashing the trnnks. We whitewash every fall, and wrap the trunk in summer to prevent the field mice and rabbits from gnawing the bark. We have twenty-two acres set, of apples, pears^ plums, cherries, peaches, quinces, apricota, etc. We want to set black- berries and strawberries in the spring. In this short commanieation I can fpvB but a brief description of our sacoessfal plan of orchard- growing. I am not an egotist when I say we have bad almost one- qnaled success in this part of the country in growing an orchard. We have finished harvesting the fourth profitable crop of apples. This year some of our tr^es (ten years set) have made $9 per tree.
I wish you a good meeting and hope to become identified with any movement of this kind which may foster the best interests of frnit- raising. I may at a future time give a concise description of our pro- ceedings. Our motto has been to "give the orchard sam^ care you do any other valuable crop."
J. S. Lbaeb & Bbo.
MIS0EI.LA.NGOUS PAPERS, 8S7
Etbbsontillb, Mo^ Jifovember X8, 1890. Jf r. L. A. GooDHAH :
Dbab Sis — I would be happy to compl; with your reqneat if I irere ao eitnated that I could, bnt I am in the northwest comer of Lino, within two miles of the Livingston connty line. As I have been one of those terrible fellows, a tree peddler, in the past for some four years, I -can give yoa a general description of the orchards in this part. Some tax years ago we had a very severe storm through here that nearly wrecked the old orchards ; some are dying from starvation, the trees all tKtnnd np in sod, and have not been properly proned.
Bnt there is a brighter side to it : the good prices of apples in the past two years have stirred the farmers np so that they are planting a greekt man; trees. And the orchard of the past, with forty-nine varie- ties, with no salable apples, will give place to Ben Davis, Willow Twig, Jonathan, with a few of the later new varieties.
Every one is planting more or less, and in most instances the; are taking care of them; the farmers have learned it is no use to plant anleaa they care for them. There are no small fraits here only for home nse ; some cherry, plnm and pear are being planted. I have a small orchard of one hnndred and six trees ; most of them have been planted three years, I have been cnltivating in a hoed crop ; from now on shall «altivate witboatany crop. I am going to plant some four hnndred more apple, mostly Ben Davis. I have some pear and plnm planted also.
Many thanks for report ; it seems to me that each nnmber is better than the last. I can asanre yon it is eagerly read by me ; I do not wish to make the mistakes I have made in the past.
If I were so situated that I oonld attend the meetings I wonld like to join the State Horticnltnral Society, as I am getting deeply interested In the fmit qaestion ; it is a anbject I never get tired of.
The prices paid for apples here this season were 50 cents for good &I1 and 60 to 75 cents for winter.
Hoping yon may have a good meeting.at Clinton,
I remain, respectfiilly yours,
T. A. Hakc
Linn connty, Evereonville, Mo.
Gbant GiTT, Mo., S^ovember 16, 1890. Mr. L. A. Goodman, Westport, Mo. :
Dbar Sib— I received yonr card some time ago, bnt laid the eotd away and forgot to answer it, and I commenced fllling it out bnt
358 8Ti.TB HOBTIOULTUBAL SOOIBTT
conclTided to write yon a letter, as I can expliwn tbinga better. I filled oat a card in 8ept«mber, and sent yoa abont the Damber of barrels of apples there vonld be in this coantj. I then pat it at 3,000 barrels, bat I was badly fooled, for since the apples are gathered and sold the amount is near S,000 barrels that has been and will be shipped f^om Grant City. Sandnsky and Co., of St. Joe, have shipped 20 car-loads from Grant City ; they shipped abont 150 barrels per load.
P. 0. Sears of Ghioa^ has and will ship near 3,000 barrele ftom- here ; he bought my orcbard in Angnst; an orchard of aboat 500 Ben Davie yields him nearly 900 barrels No. 1 apples, and about 300 barrela of No. 2 ; he gets aboat 1,300 barrels in all, for $1,000. I lost fnily $500 by aelling when I did. I never had finer Ben Davis nor fuller trees than we had this Beasoo, but over two-thirds of my orchard did not bear to- do any good. The Jonathans, Ben Davis and Winesaps were aboot all that bore. My cherry crop was only aboat half a crop ; blackberries^ raspberries hardly half a crop on account of dry weather ; but take all together this season, my f^ait crop will net me aboat $1,300, and onr market hereafter will be better than it has been in the past. I am in better spirits then I ever was in regard to the sales of apples. I do not know if this letter will be of any benefit to yoa, but any time you want to know anything that I can give you any light on in regard to frait, I will try and do so with pleasure.
Bespectfully yours,
Jebby Davidson.
CowGiLL, Oaldwbll Coontt, Mo., April 15, 1890. Mr. L. A. Goodman, Secretary Missouri State Horticultural Society,
Westport, Mo. :
Dbab Sib — Your circular informing me of the meeting of the MJBSoari State Horticultural Society at Olintou, on the 2d and 41b of December next, has been duly received. I hope the meeting will be profitable to tbe frait-growers of our State and elsewhere.
Oar apple crop here in Caldwell ooaaty was likely about a half crop. Very nice Ben Davis and Willow Twig apples sold in Cow^ll to apple packers for seventy-five cents per bushel. I sold mine, in- cluding large and small apples, for forty-five cents per bushel on tbo tree. The oldest part of my orchard is thirty-six years 9ld,and is now on the decline, and the apples somewhat wormy and small.
The great drouth that prevailed here last summer was broken on the 19th of July; after that time the apple crop improved very much,, and many thoneaads of bushels have been shipped from this (Caldwell) connty.
D.-|nz,= U Cookie
MI80ELLANB0DS PAPBBS. 359
The soft in this part of Miasonri is very favorable for the i^rowiDg of frnits of all hinds, as the sab-aoil is geoerall; poions and rich in the cbemlcal substances necesBarj for the growth of fruits and berries. A hard-pan snb-soil is very aufavoiable for the growth of orchards, as the roots of the trees cannot easily penetrate soch soils in search of food for the growth of the trees.
^ow is a good time for persons who are saited for orchard grow- ing to set out orchards, and take good care of them, as neglect of the orchard will sorely cause a fwlnre.
Kansas City is our great city now, and may be much greater than we now expect in the near fature : in fiwt, we cannot tell or know what it will be fifty years hence. Wonderfal changes will take place, no doabt, and the people that are coming in the great fature will crave or want fruits the same as we do. AH yonng or middle-aged people that will plant and take good care of their orchards will pursue a wise course, no doabt.
I hope the^forthcoming meeting of the ftnit-growers of Missonri will be profitable to all our people. Yonrs truly,
William McCeat.
Sbymoub, Mo., December 7, 1890. Mr. L. A. Goodman :
Dkab Sib — The program for the December meeting at Clinton, Missonri, sent to my son, E. Beazley, received, and as he was not here, and it was not so as he or myself coald attend the meeting, I thought I would write you something in regard to this part of the country about &nit-raising to be read at your next meeting, if yon think it worth any- thing to the fruit-raisers of Missouri.
In the first place, will begin with the whole-root graft business. There are agents here selling what they call whole-root apple trees at fi^y cents each; these agents argne that a piece-root graft is not worth planting. As for myself, I do not believe a word of this whole-root process, and will give an instance of it that happened fifty years ago. My father set out an orchard of ten acres of apples fifty years ago in Boone county, Missouri ; the trees were grown of piece-root grafts, set two rods apart, with peach trees set between the apple rows ; about one-third of the orchard sloped to the north, and two-thirds eloped to the south ; the trees on the southern slope lasted from fifteen to twenty- five years, while the ones planted on the northern slope were good bearers when forty years old. Is not this instance proof enough that piece-root trees are good enongh for the average fruit-grower of Mis- sonii 1 I think this will be a very fine fruit county some day, when the
S60 BTA.TB HOBTIOULTURAX SOGtETT.
many young orchards tbat are now being raised come into tteariog. I commenced tbe fmit bosiness here tvo years ago, by starting my own nnrsery ; boagbt tbe grafts from G. H. Pink, Lamar, MisBonri, and my trees are now two years old, and average aboat five feet high, large and thrifty, and have aa fine roots as any I ever saw,
So I will nrge on tbe fmit-growers of Missouri to bny tbeir grafts and raise their owa trees. I have also planted my ovn peach seed, and have bndded them myself; by so doing, they will not cost me more than two or three cents each if I bad hired all my help. By starting as I have, many conld go into tbe &ait business tbat coald not otberwise do BO. I expect to continne growing and setting ont ftait-trees, until I have out 100 or more acres, for I see from my neighbors aronnd that more caa be made oat of fmit than ont of stook-raisiDg or gener^ forming.
But I will conticne farming and stock-raising in connection with frnit-raising, as I find the; are profitable carried on together. In some of tbe most thrifty orchards in this part of tbe conntry, sheep or hogs are permitted to run at will, and eat tbe grass and &llen frnit. So tbe mannre is all left on the gronnd to enrich it. I know of some orchards here a part of which is cultivated and a part mulched, and tbe malched seemed to be doing the best.
Some of tbe finest trees I know of only have a pile of rooks around them, and that kind of mulch is so plentiful iu this pari; of the oonntiy it would be profitable to put our rocky land in apple orchard.
In regard to fruit lands in this (Webster) county, will say, they can be bongbt very c^eap ; wild land from $1.25 to $5.00 per acre, and im- proved farm from $5.00 to $25.00 per acre ; and we have two m^n lines of railroad through tbe county, and grain and fruits of every kind bring good prices. Yours respectfully,
E. B. Bbazlbt.
REPORT PROM PLATTE COUNTY.
Tbe fruit crop of Platte county was foir, over 50 per cent ; quality an average one ; in many localities, wherever trees existed, peaches bore well.
Our older orchards are fost passing away, and with younger and more vigorous trees, a thorough warfare for the extermination of all insect enemies, a better and more approved method of culture, it is to be hoped that onr fruit in the future may be better, as near perfect, if possible, »a can be.
The soil of our county is very rich, fully adapted to grow every agricultaial product in tbe highest excellence.
MISGELLAITBOUa PAPEBS. 361
Aa a frnit region, the soil in all its fonnatioDB is suitable ; the sita- ation of its valleys and hills for the prodnction of first-class &nit is all that can be desired, besides the presence of large bodies of water and flowing streams, necessary for the production of good frnit and eoDStant crops, which we have in good snpply : in the northwest part of the county, two large lakes are sending op their vapory moistnre ; the broad Missoori flows along oar western boundary; the Platte winds its tortaons coarse from north to south, while many minor streams flow through every part of it.
Oar market facilities are good ; four large cities surround us, with 'OUT local towns, while the great West will be always ready for oar SDr> plus. J. A. Ddbebs.
Stoutland, Dec. 1, 1890. L. A. Goodman, Secretary State Sorticultural Society, Westport, Mo.:
Camden coanty is west of the central part of Missouri and mostly aouth of the Osage river; contains about nineteen (19) congressional townships, with a population of about (11,000) eleven thousand, with an assessed valuation of $995,000. Lying principally south of the Osage river, it is beautifully interspersed with rivers and streams, and contains large caves or caverns, and some of the most romantic natural scenery in the world. It has some wonderful mineral deposits, sach as lead, zinc, precious stone (onyx).
Camden county's diversified sur&ce, her soil and her products tell plainly and tmthfhlly of her immense agricnltaral as well as horticul- tural resources. Messrs. Adams and Hallowayhave a young nursery in the eastern part of the coanty, and John Letcher has a small nursery in the western part of the coanty. Many trees have been planted in the last year with a view to commercial orchards. Camden county has a large acreage of land that could be devoted to the cultivation of fruit with profit ; and more attention is being paid in the last two years than before. We may look forward to the day that fruit-raising will be a leading feature of this county.
We must learn from experience and give each other our views, as well as saccess or fulure, for each is worth knowing to all interested workers.
I will close, wishing you all who attend the State meeting at Clin- ton a good time, and in the hope of meeting with you at some future meeting is the wish of Bespectfully yours,
J. W. BUBHANS.
.y Google
362 STATE HOSriOXJLTUBAI. aOOIBTT.
ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. At Cairo, Deeembtr 9t\ tc ISA, 1S90. [Report ttr Chas. Patterson, ftlrksvilie.J Mr. L. A. Goodman, (Secretory MUaoKri State Rortteultural Society:
■ Deab Sib — Thanke to your bind instractions and outfit, I agaia bod the plc-asore of atteoding the ananal meeting of this active and progresaive society, and wae as well received, ae horticaUnnstBalTays ' know bow to make visitors abate eaob other's pleaaares. As this was my fifth visit in that sncceasion of years I begin to feel almost as much at home there as in my own State, and nothing short of a calamity will prevent me from repeatiag it next year and indeflnitely. The fruit consigned to me in care of Secretary A. C. Hammond was already in good place for display when I arrived. The aanal oommenta on Mis- sonn ftuits would indicate that as a matter of course they should makft a better showing than theirs, bat I think we should consider that their exhibits generally come A:om the north central parts of the Stale and above, and scarcely any from the southern parte, while onra generally come from the soathem and western parts. What they might do if the southern part of the State should make as much effort to exhibit as the. central part now does, I am not so confident of. However, if I had a mnseum orchard, as some of them seem to have, I woold.have th« courage to compete with any of them, if I do live near the northera border,
E will not attempt a detailed statement of instrnetive papers and discaseions, but rather refer to such as I think would be of general interest to our members. One of these was a paper by Prof. Trench on a new insect pest called the Fruit-Tree bark beetle, which it waa estimated would destroy all the cherry, plam and pescfa trees in Southero Illinois in five years, if not checked. A specimen section of tree and branches was exhibited, some one to three inches in diameter, closely perforated with smalt holes through the bark and sapwood, whiclt seemed to fully justify the estimate. I did not catch the scteutlflo description of it, nor any other remedy than to cut and burn the treo as soon as discovered. We must keep a close look-out for it. The Gipay moth, which I think has been described in some paper, was also brought to notice. Spraying raspberries and blackberries with blae-stoue solution before leaves come out, against fangii similar to or identical with antrcenosi, was indorsed by Prof. Bnrrilt and others.
Prof. Burrill gave a very interesting lecture on "Infiuence of Boot on Trees as regards Health and Hardiness." While such a lecture from him is always highly instructive, this was evidently intended to settle
MISOELLAKEOUS PA.PEB8. 363-
the mooted qaeation of BO-oalled whole-root (grafting, which, I think, has been givea tar more promioence in the last five years by that so- ciety than snch a hnmbng deservee fi-om sach a body of men. It is doe to eay that very few, if any, well-informed members ever undertake to defend it, and that the only object of the discaseion is to meet the piolix 5x9 nonpareil literature Bcattered broadcast to catch gadgeons : bnt it shonld be remembered that these gudgeons seldom, if ever, at- tend snch meetings or read the reports, and that the skillful anglers will t>e very snre to change their bait long before common reports can reach their victims — as instance budded trees, French crab stocks, etc. If there has ever been an improved variety or method introduced throngh these nibblers, and sustained by experience, I am not aware of it, bnt the gudgeons are as nameroas and as gullible as ever. It la very hamiliating to see some of onr well-informed men lending them- selves to spit on the baits, presumably for very small favors.
A committee of three was appointed to place the society in com- munication with the Division of Pomology.
I did not bear if any actioa was taken on the Oolnmbian exposi- tion, bnt it seemed to be left with the executive board. By inquiry I learned that they expected to ask not less than C50,000 appropiiation from the State, with no misgiving that they would be beaten down. Will our otQcers and Legislature please govern themselves accordingly?'
Mr. J. Webster, Gentralia, was re-elected president, as well ae A. C. Hammond, Warsaw, secretary. Next place of meeting will be- Olney, also in southern part of the State.
On jny return I stopped over one day with friend Webster, at Gentralia, and had the pleasure of inspecting as many strawberry llelds- and orchards as the weather and short time would permit. These fields and orchards, and appliances for handling the crops, show not only that they mean basiness, but that tbey are actually doing an im- mense amount of it^ in both these lines, on correct bnsiness principles^ The early decline of sod-bound orchard trees is not likely to afflict that section very soon — at least, not as a rule- We must keep the plows, harrows and cullivatora going in our orchards if we will not be ontdone by sheer physical force and intelligent energy.
HuaO, MONTGOMEEY OOUNTT, Mo.
Montgomery county is beginning to come to the front, to a great
extent, as a good fruit county. While at present there are not a great
many large commercial orchards in bearing, there will, in a few mor&
years, be a great many. This will especially be the case in the south-
■S64 BT1.TB HOBTIOUt,TnKAL 800IBTT.
■em part of the county. Eight years aRO the vicinity of Hugo was ■almost »D nQbroken forest. It vaa soon fonad ont that the land vas well adapted for fraib. A horticaltarat society was organized and the ^it interest taken ap in dead earnest. A great many commercial orchards have since been set ont, and in the coming spring more trees will be planted than ever before. In the first plantings some mistakes were made in sotting oat varieties not snited for our land, thoagh otherwise good market sorts. Nearly all of these will be grafted over the coming spring. At least three-fonrths of the trees that will be planted £rom now on will be Ben Davis, the balance Jonathan and Wil- low Twigs. The Ben Davis seems to ontgrow any other tree ; it beare yoang and constantly, and there is always a good demand for the apples. A good number of our members have also planted pears quite exten- sively. Olapp's Favorite, Howell and Keiffer I find among the best. The Bartlett do not seem to do well ; too much of the &nit is deformed and knotty. Ponnd is the largest pear that I have seen grown here. I had a specimen last year that weighed 28 oances. I also had 27 spe- isUnens that weighed 30 ponnds (half bnshel).. Size, however, is aboat the only good qaality that this pear has. Doyenne d'Ete and LeOonte are absolntely worthless here on acooont of blight. Cherries and plnms do well here, bnt cannot see that there is mncfa profit in grow- ing them.
A great interest is also taken in strawberry cnltore. Oar land seems to be especially adapted to their growth. One of oai members, two years ago, has raised 170 gallons on 1-5 of an acre. I had myself helped to measore the ground, and the party had a list, telHng where every gallon had been sold. Onr last crop of berries, however, was nothing to br^ of. The late frosts had greatly injured the crop, while the continued wet weather made the balance too soft to handle. Oom. berlayd, Crescent and Captain Jack are still giving the bestresalts. A nnmber of other new and promising sorts will have a chance to show themselves the coming season, sneh as Michel's Early, Warfleld No. 2, Babaoh No. 5, etc.
Jessie I find to be absolutely worthless. I do not see how it can l)e recommended as a good fertilizer, from the &ct that it blooms a week or ten days sooner than any other variety. For extra late I find Oandy, W. Chief and Cornelia among the best. For qaality alone, how- ever, I yet claim the banner for Piper.
Blackberries do well here and generally bring a good price. Kitta- tinny takes the lead so far, and will continue to do so, unless it finally succumbs to the rust, as I hear it does in other sections. Lawton and Western Triumph are also good.
HiaOBLLAMSOTTS PAFBBS. 365-
B.ngo and vicinity has a great many iudacements to offer for new settlere, especially frait-growerg. There is yet plenty of good fruit land that oao be bonght cheap. We havti a good school, two churches, a postoffloe and a daily hack line to the railroad, a distance of four miles. The time is not &r distant when there Till be some business honsea put up. Sach will certainly be the case as soon as our young orchards will hefux to bear, for then storage buildings for barreU and the box material, large Bvaporators and cider mills will become a uecessity. Bespectfully submitted.
F. LlONBBBOBB.
Honr cotWTT.
I received your card of October 20, 1S90, and I will try and comply with your request as best I can. To-day I received program, for wbioh I am obliged.
Aa the object of this Society is to better the condition of the human &mily, you desire nothing but facts. I will try and give &ct8,, ae a mlBrepresentation might worse the condition of some people.
The late ftosta last spring and the unusual dronth cut oar small fruits and stone fruits somewhat short. Some strawberries made $200- per acre; raspberries, $100 per acre; blackberries, $100 to $200; oherries and plums, half crop.
We estimated our apple crop about 60 per cent this year. The anuaoal drouth caused the apples to ripen early and drop off, which was a ^eat loss.
Mr. E. F. Loomis & Co., of Xew York, shipped $45,000 worth of apples out of Holt oounty this &1L As near as I can get at it, the apple crop of Holt coonty amounted to $100,000 in cash. This is cer- t^nly a good help to the connty. Besides, many of these orchards afforded nearly or quite as much pasture or hay as if the trees were not there.
I believe when our State authorities will see what an immense revenue there is in the fruit crop of Missouri, they will appropriate at least as mnch money for horticultare as they do for agriculture, so that the fruita of Missouri can be duly represented at the World's fair in '92, without so mnoh expense to a few of her citizens. Every citizea in this State is benefited by such an exhibit, and this is the true and honest way to advertise the products of the country. Then the world can see with their own eyes what oar State can do. So let every citi- zen bear his part of the expense, and the exhibit can be made a credit to the State of Missouri, with but little expense to each citizen.
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_V
<gk
■366 BTATE HOETIOrLTDBAL BOOIBTT.
Holt coautf ia admirably adapted to fraits of all kinds, or anjlhinif we wisb to pnt in the groDod and give it some work. The better we caltivate, the better it pays. Apple trees will pay in fmit in seven or ei^ht years trojn setting. We cau raise any kind of vegetables or com in the yonng orchard. This cnltivates the trees, and no loss of gronnd till the frait pays. I prefer corn. This protects the trees fit>ai the bard wind and fi-om the hot Aagnst snn and the cold in wiDt«r. My trees have always done better in com than anything else.
Celery can be raised here as profitably as anywhere ; in quality it snrpasses any that has been shipped into onr market. All other vege- tables can be easily grown and of good quality, as onr soil is very pro- ductive, with a natural nnder-drainage, which makes it very easily cul- tivated.
Timber land for the purpose of fire-wood or for the timber and «ord-wood don't sell any higher than it did 36 years ago, whOe all the improved farms have advanced very mnch. Improved land can be bought from $25 to $75 per acre — owing to the improvements and loca- tion ; unimproved land from $10 to $25 per acre — owing to the location. The land in Holt county is all very prodnotive. In a summer da; the waving fields of grass and golden grain present a beantifcl view to the passer-by.
We usually have rain.fall enough to mature any crop we may plant.
Kearly all the Christian denominations tae represented here, and their doors are always open for new-comers and strangers. Anyone «eekiiig for a home to locate would do well to look at Holt county before they locate.
Our county is out of debt ; our taxes light — 75 cents to $1.
Missouri has monutains of wealth untouched. When fnlly devel- oped, it will make her the greatest State in this Union. We have good water and good health, which is above all else. There are seventy-six achool districts in the coanty, all with good houses and fixtures; be- sides there are six graded schools where from two to eight teachers are «mployed for two-thirds of the year. The county has a school fund of nearly $100,000, which increases every year — the interest of the sum amounting to nearly $8,000 yearly, which is applied to the support of the schools of the county. Besides this, a large sum is received an- nually from railroad and telegraph assessments. We have young men and young women in the county that are competent to fill any station ia life with credit to themselves and credit to the county, that have not been tanght in any school outside of the county, and without costing the student one cent. Our schools are free to all, from the age of six to twenty.
MISOBLLANEOUB FAFEBS. 367
Wherever I have met with the Society in different parts of the State, I coald nee the eame intelligence manifested, especially in the yoang folks, by their well-wiitten and well-read essays. I believe Mis- -sonri is settled with as good, honest and intelligent people as any State in the Union, and it has ae good society.
Had I been a king or President of the United States, I ooald not liave wished for better entertunment than I received from the citizens -while attending these meetings. I am only too sorry I coald not meet with yon at Olinton. I don't know as anyone conld learn anything from me, bat I have always been benefited very mach by meeting with yon.
Wh. Bbodbboe.
lUr. L. A. Goodman, Secretary MUaouri State Horticultural Society :
There has, in Oregon oonnty, Mo., no extensive progress been made yet in ft'nit oaltnre, although there is snEQcient proof that as fine froit in all the varipns varieties can be raised in Oregon connty as in any of lier Bister connties in Soath Missoari.
The soil contains every essential element that is reqaired to pro- dnce size, color and due flavor to the fmit; and as Oregon county is -wholly located on the sonthern slope of tbe Ozark monntains, and therefore protected from the rough and cold wind-storms that occasion' ally blow from the west and north, it makes it a favorite location, ■especially for the raising of peaches. There are f^it orchards in this coanty that are over forty years old, and many of the trees are as -floaud as a dollar. There are pear trees forty years old, and show no decay and bear nearly every season. There are a number of old orcbards in good condition and bearing fine apples, though but little care has ever been given them — at least, not the care that tbe yOnng orchardists of to-day are learningto give the trees that are now planted. Of the late planted frait orchards of any note in this connty may lie named the S. W. Gilbert and Clinton Barnard and Dr. P. F. Carter, all of Thayer, who will in the near fntare reap Incrative rewards for their enterprising features in tbe good work. Mr. Gilbert is drifting into berry-growing, and Mr. Carter has started an extensive vineyard of many of the leading varieties of grapes, of which some are now two years old, and have already brought him good returns for his labor, and he feels encouraged to plant more grape-vines every year. Mr. Carter tells the writer that the stone-covered bill-sides are tbe best for the grapes. Such land as many would pronounce worthless will prove the most profitable to him.
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368 STATS HOBTIOULTDKiLL SOOIETr.
It may not be ont of place to atate that the OToere and managers of the well-known Otden frnit (strm, in Howell connty, have laid the foandatioD to encoarage the planting of millions of fimit-trees all over the adjoining coanties east and west of Howell. The fonndera of that grand frnit &rm — now talked and read aboat f^ over the United States^ and even reached Enrope — have not only laid the foundation for a for* tnne to themselves, bnt also for many others who are willing to profit by these enterprising men's experiment and gigantic ondertaking. Thonsands of others can now, wtthoat risk or fear, follow their example^ and if not on as large a scale, on a less one, according to each one's means and circnmstances.
The writer is buoyant with good hope that every land owner in Oregon connty, being one of the best coonties on the sontbem slope of the Ozarks, will try to imitate the ones who are now taking the lead in scientific manner of raising trees and fruits, and that every effort made in that direction will be crowned with success, not only for health and satis&cdon, but also to help to fill the purse.
What we need and must do in Oregon county is, to organize a connty horticnltnral society, as by this means a great amount of good would be accomplished in enconraging fruit-raising, which wonid in the Dear fatare bring a great amount of revenue to the formers of OregoD county; in fact, every connty in Sonthern Missouri should, without delay, organize a horticultural society. Sot too many froit'trees can be planted all over this vast region of country on the Bouthem slope of the Ozarks, which is so especially adapted to the raising„of the dif- ferent fruits and berries.
The writer of this, though past sixty years of age, bnt having gained encouragement and valuable information by attending a few meetings of the Missouri State Horticultural Society, will now begin to plant frnit-trees in Oregon county. However, this will not be his first venture in planting frnit-trees — having in his day planted fine apple orchards in Illinois, but was not much crowned by snocess, as Oentral Illinoia has not proved to be a fruit country to give enconiagement to the plan- ters of trees.
I will here give a list of a few Oregon county fiwmers who are the .owners of the most noted orchards: Capt, 8. Oreer, James Powell, the Judge Woodside &rm, Thomasville ; Benj. Guns, Mrs. G-roves, A. Cop- penhagen, and a few others whose names I am not able to mention. Yours truly,
SAM'L KA.nPHA.HN.
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MISCBIXAITKO0B PAPBBS. . 369
VEENON COUNTY HOBTICULTUBAL SOCIETY. Mr. L. A. Goodman :
Deab Sib — In makiDg a report of the workioge of onr coaDty so- ciety, I am forced to confess that there faaa been some &JliQg ofif in membership and in the interest taken in the meetings. There have been several uanaes tending to this resnit. One canse, perhaps more promi- uetit than any other, is that it Is hard to make each meetings interest- ing when it is left to a few to keep the interest alive ; to get np in a tiOFticnltiiral society and rehash the facts that erery one recognizes as settled, becomes somewhat tiresome. Upon a correct coant, oar So- ciety has recommended the Crescent Seedling and Miner's Prolific ae the two most profitable strawberries to plant jast seventeen times in saccession ; and in order to have a slight change in the programme, some of as are seiionsly thinking of having this recommendation set to masic, bo that members can either sing or whistle it at fatnre meet- ings. I may bare lied a little in the above, bnt still there is enongh tmth i4 it to be worthy of serione oonBideralion. The remedy I wonld suggest, and one that perhaps wonld be fonnd beneficial in all local hoTticoltnral societies, woold be the appointment of a committee to formulate a comprehensive plan of experiments to determine many questions that are as yet unsolved, and to detail members who appear best qnalified to conduct these experiments and report results. Then in the coarse of the meetings, these reports conid be [ read and dis- cussed, and would very likely bring out new and correct information that it is unlikely wonld ever come to light without some aneb well- directed system. We want to know more of the fertilization of the blossoms of fruits and berries. We want some reliable tacts as to the value of commercial fertilizers. We want to know when and how to trim our trees and vines to give best results. We want to know the value of a tap-root to a fruit tree. It wonld be interesting to note the difference between two peach trees, one grown from a seed planted where the tree is to stand and to never cut off any of its roots, and a tree taken from a nursery with its tap-root and all others cut off.
There are thousands of questions that can be advanced that noth- ing bnt a systematic test can ever determine. This is the labor lying before the members of our horticultural societies, and it requires the performance of some such labor to make them interesting and to bring out a full attendance. Our past season has been rather trying to our smatl-frnit growers, and tbe formation of a shipping association occn-
I B_24
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370 STATB HORTICULTURAL 800IBTT,
pied as mncfa of the time during the beny season aa they coald spare to snch matters. Oar experieoce of ebipping frnit in refrigerator cars gave rather nnsatisfactorj resalts. There were many Cannes for this that oircamstaDcee made it imposBible to avoid — freqneot rains daring the stravberr; season, making the frnit too soft to pat on the market Id good eouditioD ; but the principal cause of failure was because of be- ing nnsble to secure the fruit of some of our principal f[rowerB,uid the eoDsequence vas the cars had to be held sometimes two and even three days before sufQcient fruit could be bad to fill the cars. Had not these same growers encouraged the formation of juat saoh an organization^ aud assisted in its formation up to that point where their assistance would have been of some beueflt to it, then no harsh jadgment could Justly be brought against them, but as it was, it only gives added proof of the old Indian's assertion, that "white man mighty ousartaiu ;" aud this same uncertainty is the mill-atone around the neck of all organiza- tions formed to benetlt mankind.
Onr raspberry and blackberry crop gave fair reinrns. Flams and peaches were almost a total failure. Onr apple crop was la]^e, the fruit of fair size, but badly affected by the codling moth. Prices were unusually high, ranging from twenty cents per bushel for the poorest all the way ap to one dollar for choice. Two evaporators and one can- ning establishment look large quantities of the more inferior fruit and did a successful buBiness. Our apple crop is estimated at abont three hundred and Aft; thousaud bushels.
Ou the whole, our horticnitural interests are on the advance all along the line, and is tending toward less perishable fraits. Some large pear orchards are being planted — one of 600 Duchess pear. The English morrelU) cherry is also being planted extensively.
There are several apple orchards of over a thousand trees each, will be set the coming spring, and of our most reliable vfffieties, the. Ben Davis and Jonathan being largely in the lead. As an illastration of extensive farming, I herewith give the past season's crop from a plat cultivated by Mr. Per Swainson, treasurer of our county society. The plat contains one-tenth of an acre, and consists of what we con- sider oor very poorest land, because of being underlaid at the depth of foni-teeu inrhes with a tough putty-like gumbo. He manured heavily and bad hydrant water to assist daring the drouth of abont six weeks: 40 quarts strawberries, 76 quarts gooseberries, 3 quarts beans, 10 bead cabbage, 5 head cauliflower, 20 head kale, 6 bnnches rhubarb, 5 dozen cucumbers, 1 peck onions, 12 quarts peas, 15 dozen salsify, 100 gladio- lus bulbs, 200 tube rose bulbs, i bushel carrots, 400 stalks of celery, GOO pounds parsnips, 1,500 pounds beets, 150 pounds Ooacord and lona
Dgnzs.uCoeH^lc
MI80BI,LA.NBOX:3 PAPBR8. 371
grapes, 4 bashels potatoes, 2 basheU tomatoes, and eammer and winter radishes for &iiiilyuae. Among these vegetables are growing 12 young grape-vines, 24 raspberry and blackberry bashes to bear another year. A list of these articles gives bat a slight idea of the qoalitj and sizes : celery stalks weighiog over a pound, and winter radishes over foox pounds. The entire 1,500 poanda beets growing on just four rods ; all the celery was grown as second crop on the potato gronnd,6tc., the whole crop being a proof (hat Americans, as a rale, are cultivating all the way from ten to ten thousand times too mnch land, and that one acre in celery, under the very best conditions, will sell for more than the average prodect of an hundred and sixty acre farm.
J. G. ElNDBB.
BAY COUiTTY.
OsBicK, November 30, 1890.
To any person seeking a permanent home, or an investment of funds, there is no connty in this State, or in the West, that offers bet- ter opportunities than this.
The resources of almost every kind are almost boundless. The opportunities for business of almost every kind are good. The facili- ties for spiritual enjoyment, mental improvement and social opportuni- ties are as good as elsewhere. The county, on the south,- is one con- tinuous broad belt of flat lands, broken at one place on the east end, where the high lands touch the river. This belt consists of the finest agricnlturat lauds in the world. The cereals of all kinds bless the labors of the former with an abundant product. This belt consists of three distinct varieties of soil. The black loam constitutes the larger part, and on this are some of our finest farms. The sandy loam con- sists of land intermixed with alluvial deposits. The gumbo or waxy soil seems to have been the bottom of lagoons ; the subsoil to this is a hard-pan. The cereals all produce abundantly on each of these soils. Hemp succeeds well. Potatoes do better on the sandy and black loam.
The north side of the county consists of hills interspersed with ■beautiful table lands, much of the soil of which equals the fine bottom lands. The most broken part of the county, by the free use of clover, can be made to produce abundant crops of all kinds. I have known the poorest clay hills to produce crops of corn which actnally sold for twice as much as the land would sell for at the same time. It is not an absolntely unknown thing to have a crop here to sell for more than the farm will bring on the market.
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372 8TATB HOETICDLTUEAI, SOCIETY.
I hope I shall not be considered egotistic when I say that my crop this year is worth more on the market than I have ever been able to get offered for my entire farm. The north and northeast part of the connty consists of beantifal, rich prairies ; the sooth and soathwest of fine timber. There is an abundance of timber for all practical purposes. The entire connty is anderlaid with a good article of coal, the mining of which gives employment to more than a thousand people.
The mining indostry gives a good home market to tmck farmer, and all surplus farm produce, sach as vegetables, poultry and butter, at a remunerative price. Tlie mining industry is extending. New mines are being opened, and the present outlook indicates a continued extension of this industry. I may here mention the prospects for an early development of petroleum. Some efforts have been made and capital expended on this line, aud a first-class article of lubricating oil developed, but not in safflcient quantity yet to pay a dividend.
Our railroad accommodations are all that one should desire. We have direct com mnni cation with all of the best markets of the countrj- — Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, and many metropolitan towns. Our county is permeated by four different roads, and the Bftli is in process of construction. I may add that there is strong apprehension that lead and silver are both existing here in paying qnantities, and that prospecting has been carried on to a limited extent.
Our towns are in a thrifty condition, and mannfactoring is being carried on with a good prospect for a broader coutiuaauce. We hare flouring mills which vie with the best establishments in the country. Our metropolis has introduced the electric light on its streets. It has four newspapers and three banking honses. There are several other papers in the county and quite a number of banks. The town of Orrick, on the Wabash railroad, has two banking houses. One was established this fall, with good prospects of snocess. The other house is well established, and has been doing a lucrative business. The edu- cational advantages are nnsarpaased. We have good country schools. We have a college in the town of Richmond which is doing a grand work. In the same town there is in process of building an institnlion by the Methodist denomination for the education of females, which is expected to rank high as a literary and scientific iDStitation.
Last but by no means least of these grand and good advantages is the strong religious iuflnence at work in the county. The Mission Baptists would seem to have the lead ; the Methodists, Presbyterians, Disciples of Christ, Christian Union, Catholics and Iron-Jacket Bap- tists all are struggling on and up. I come now to conclude my brief report by calling attention direct to the raising of fruits of various kinds.
MI80ELLAHBOU8 PAPERS. 373
Apples of all kinds succeed most admirably here, and there seems to be a general observation of the importance of more extended inter- est in the raising of frnits of all kinds. Tbe raising of apples, however, takes precedence of all other fruite.. I can hardly say that there are as yet any particular apples or apple which takes tbe lead in popularity among oar fkrmera. Old prejadices seem to prevail generally in the setting of orchards, and farmers rather seek those varieties which they prefer for their own nse, of the kinds which their fathers have raised. Tbe conseqaence of all this is that the man who has made carefol selections exclusively for market finds himself in a dilemma, and gets no more for bis apples than is given for the entire crop, *atthoagh his crop may be superior to the entire crop of the commnnity. The orchards consisting of carefol selections for market are so few and far apart that the speoolator and bayer take advantage of these conditions to give the specialist and indastrions orohardist the same price for extra well- assorted varieties that he gives for common Torieiies, thereby making good the losses sustained in handling the ftnit of tbe slip-shod or- ohardist by realizing largely on the extra varieties. This condition of atbirs is very humiliating to the man who raises fruit as he would any other crop, expecting to realize in ratio to the labor expended. How this can be remedied or prevented, to me is an open qoestioa.
Of alt the varieties raised in this county, notwithstanding the deep- rooted prejudice to this variety, the Ben Davis is tbe most sought after by apple buyers. This apple deserves a large place in the esteem of every orchard grower. With na it comes into bearing early and bears regular and remnnerative crops. This year I sold $9.00 worth of apples off of one Ben Davis tree which had been set ten years. The rapid growth and hardiness of the trees, the tendency to bear early and regularly, the beautiful appearance of tbe fruit, combined with extra good qualities as a sauce, make it one of our most desirable, if indeed it is not the best apple we have.
Other varieties rank hlgb. Tbe Missouri Pippin and Jonathan ore highly praised and mneb sought after. The Wineeap does well here, bat unfortunately it is much inclined to shed its fruit prematurely.
The culture of the pear has been greatly neglected in this county. It seems to be the general opinion of tbe people that pears will not succeed so far north, and hence such a thing as a pear orchard is sel- dom seen. I know of but one pear orchard, except my own, in this county. Why such a deep-rooted prejudice to the growing of this valuable and appetizing tniit should exist is more than I can compre- hend. I have a promising young orchard of pears, which is growing as thrifty as the apples. The trees appear to endure the cold and heat
37i 8TATB HOBTIOVLTURAL SOCIETY.
qnite as well ab other orchard trees. I have raised some fine speci* meoH of pears of the Bartlett and Flemish Beanly, My Keiffer is grow- ing well, but has not come to bearing age. Cherriea and plams do well here. Strawberriee, blacbberriee, raspberries, currants and goose- berriea eacceed well. We have many small vineyards, all of which sacceed well. Grapes have never been raised here to any extent for market,
I regret that I am in troth compelled to say thatoar climate is not adapted to the production of the peach. The cold, damp winters kill the frait and often the trees. The consequence is that we have only an occasional crop of this fniit. Peaches are very profitable, however, and often sell for a remnnerative price. To the person who desires to seek a home, for the prodnction of frait or otherwise, I wonld say, come to Ray county. We have room for industrious, sober people, and I feel sare a better location for the same money can hardly be bad. The Methodist presiding elder, the Rev. Mr. Obryant, made the follow- ing remark at Omuk last week : " I have traveled in thirteen Slates, and I have never seen a better country than this." The home-seeker can get land for almost any price. Good frait farms which, under the care of the indnstrioas farmer, may soon be made to " blossom as the rose," can be had for $12.50 to $25 per acre. Someof the finest and best forms in the county have recently changed hands at $35 per acre. Respectfully submitted.
Jahbs S. Lgaee & Bbo.
MARKET FOR HORTICULTURAL PRODUCTS.
Mb. L. a. Goodman :
Dbab Sib — Yours at hand, and in reply will say that the sabject yoa allade to has a wide range for study. I must confess that I have Dot been able to bring forth all the facts as to the best methods to dispose of oar surplus products at good living prices at some seasons of the year. As for myself, I have been in the gardening business for twenty-five years; twenty years in this city. I started here when the town was small, about twelve or thirteen hundred people. My means were small, and the demand for what I grew was small also, but I thought I would try again. I rented a house and four acres of land for three years, at $150 per year, cash. After that I bought land close to town, paying to the tune of eleven hundred dollars for five and one- half acres. I began to raise vegetables and small fruits, and retailed '•--- '^ut about town ; I have at times shipped small lots of vegetables
HISOBLLANEOnS PAPEB8. 375
from here; I always had the horrora when the express company had anything to do with it, as the margin was small after it had been tbroagh their hands. As a role there has never been enoagh small fruit raised about here to supply the home demand. My land was too costly to put it all into that &ind. I think the time will not be long before there wilt be more in the basiness. I always contend that a home market is best for this reason, there is one saving in boxes and crates. At many places where I sell my berries I can get the boxes and crates and use them again without cost of time in going and coming to market, the many times of going back and forth for the many things that are necessary for garden use. I cannot see it in the same light that some do, in flooding the markets and running down to starva* tiou prices. There are marketa some distance from here where straw- berries sold as low as four cents per quart by the crate. At that time we were getting eight and one-third. What can the grower get oat of that, if yon connt boxes, crates and two cents per quart for picking! Then there is commission and rent of land. The profit mast be slim indeed.
The demand for small frnits at this place is getting better every year, as onr city grows. Ten years ago we had 2,264 population, now we have 4,534 people. Our prices vary with the season. We had a very dry spell of weather in May and Jone, that cut our crops short. I have taken the trouble to ascertain, as near as possible, the amoant of berries shipped to this place this season over and above what was raised here ; it amounts to 750 crates, and not any were shipped out ; this, of course, means raspberries, blackberries and strawberries. We have a thriving city and a fine farming conntiy here ; farms with good improvements on them can be bought for $40 per acre near town, and less in proportion as you get farther off,; my land has donbled in value aince I bought it, but land fifteen miles off is not increased three per per cent. I have not been doing a land-office business, but I have planted oat this year Ave acres of berries and one handred and thirty pear trees on new land ; I have two green-houses, some nnrsery stock and vegetable garden.
Any person wishing to correspond with me as to locating in this part, I will gladly answer every question in regard to horticulture, as &r as I know.
In concladiog, I would say, locate near a market if yon want to grow small fniits to sell, so that the good Lord may deliver yoa from all express companies.
Joseph Gamble,
Brookfleld, Linn Oo.
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_V
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876 STATE HORTICULTURAL BOOIETY.
[.The fbUowing report In OenaaD l» from a Oermtn bortionltuml society ^t Hngo, Montgomerj county, whicb 1b the only QermaD county organization In th« country that I know of. They are doing good work, and have hundreds of acres in ftnlt and thousande of fruit trees planted where five or six years ago there were Boaroely any. I wish we had many more such workers In onr State.— SscBitTABr.)
aRit{)lie^et bti ^ugo Obfi< unb @aitcnbau<@ef;ll|'4aft:
9118 Sttpott ubei bit ben Obftbaumen {^cibli^en $i(jt fd ^olflcnbtfi gefagt : aSie ti alien aRUflliebetn biefet ®efellfiftflft leibtr yut flenuj befannt iff, f)aben bit genannlen $ilje Ic^tcn @ammec nieber Diel Sifiaben getbon in ben etnbetmifi^en ffetnobpforten, Sefonber8 war bie6 bet S"I1 mil ben JHoftflMfeii (Fusicladium dendriticum ) mil nelifttn etlidie QltpfelfoTten fo bebaffel maren, bag bicfelben ju feinem ^mtie benugt merben tonnten. ^itfe f^ablicben ^il^e befinben fii^ je^t noift im adetbeftcn Suftinbe in ben (leinen fcfcleiftfen J^ruditen, bit nic^t einflefom- melt Ivutben, fo nie auik an ben auf bcm 93oben lifflenben Slatletn- ^itr bleiben btefelben in gulem Suf'^nbe burc^ ben 9Sinter, um im r^riibiabt fogleidi mieber bereit ju fein, weiteten S^aben an^uricfelen. ©ie fleinen Somfntorptrdien, (?Ri' (roben genannt) |inb fo (lein (bloS 10 biS 20 M.) bnfe Siefelbfn mit unbenjoffnrtcn Slugen nic^t gefe^en tnerben fonnen. Diefelben ffimebcn im griifijobr in ber 9uft Return, feljen fiifi auf bit frif* gtformten Slepfel, mo bi([elben, nienn bie SBittemng giinftifl ift, fogleidi anfangen ju wacbfen unb fo ibr oet^ecTenbee SSett fortfrtf^n 34 glnube, ein gutet ¥Ian ift, \o Diel »ie moglitii bur(^ ben Winter ben %<ium> gotten rein fo fallen, unb oHen aiigefammelten Uitratb iju ocrbtennen. gerner wtiibe i^ lalben, teine @arten Don Sernobft ju pflanjen, bie biefet ^ilttiantbtit unterWoTfen finb. ^o Diele Don Foldien @orten in tintm Vaumgatten ftnb, foQttn bie betreffenben Saume umge))fro|]ft mtibtn, bai ift mo bie Sauine nodi gefunb finb, im anbeitn galle abet ijl tS beffer bitfelben auSjugiaben unb ju Dttbrtnnen. Solves mar Wtalitb meint 91r6eil flemefen 0o 3emanb gtfonnen ift, Baumt urn* gupfropftn, mo4te ii^ no(^ bemerttn, ba| t8 eon bet gtblten SBitbtigteit ift, bie *Pfii)pf' unb DcuIit'JRtifer nut Hon gan^ gefunben ^auracn ju ft^neibtn. 3* glaube, bag e^e mir obige SSagregel befolgtn, t9 ni^t Diel nii^en mitb, Don Silfe* mittein @ebtau<$ ju matben, wtUit meinei 91nRi^t mij nut in ben $anben folt^et 99aum)iiibtet gute SItfuttate ^aben metben, bit gute Seobaditer nnb, btncn bit gonfc SebenSgeri^i^te bet ^ilje belannt if), mo @ol(be^ni(^t bet ^aO if), mug nalut> li^ bloB auf baS @ttat^emo^[ gt^anbclt merben.
Srgtbtnft,
g. ^ionbttgtt.
Slnben^ciifibenten unb bie 3!NitgfieberbeiObfl'unb
lSotttnbau«®efeIlf(baft:
©ie $ugo Obfl' unb @)attenbaus@efeaf(baft Itbt immer noi^, tro|bem fit mtnig SRitgliebet jablt. @i( befiitanft fid| noilb immet ouf btn ^ugo SiftuUCifltitt. ®od| i^ bente, mir metben balb unfet @ebiet trmeitetn, unfrrt Wat^baiDttt finb etfiount iibtt bie gtu(^t, welibe mit jitben ; mit wetbtn ^in unb miebet gt ftagt, mie ift
UIBOELLA^HEOnS PAPERS. 377
obn raie tommt e9, baft S^t fol(^ fctonc ^tui^t jie^en fonnt, unb nit ni^t? Unreie Slntnoil ift Qtmo^nlii^ : tnaium fc^littit 3^i<Su<4 ni^t btt Horticultural Society an; 36t muibtt bann balb Kfa^Kn, auf lotHe 3(ct fione unb gute gtutbt gejogen to«« ben tann. Unf« Society ^at ItJttB §Tui)ja^T Berry Boxes unb Orate. aRofetiol im @TO&tn fiii unftit SKitglicbtr aefauft, wai rin gutcr %oit^til fui unS toot.
S)er bicSjabiige @ttiag uj>n Stbbfeten nar auSgcjiit^net, abet bie ^teife toartn nitbrio, funf I5.ent8 bat Quart im ©uH^fdinitt. Berrj- Patches finb in guttt Orb* nung unb beifpre^en eintn qxoitn Srtcag fut na^ftee 3a^i. ^e})fe( ^atltn toir ni^t Dili bitfeS 3q^i, ftma 50 Sufcfiel Ben Davis auf mtinem iDb^garttn ; aOe anben @orttn mattn mtt)t obet ntniger ben SXoflfltcten untcmorfen. gait aOt unftKc Obftgarten finb jung, ein flTOicT %)it\\ ju jung urn ju tiagtn. Soufenbe Don Saumen finb It^tti j^tii^' unb ^patiabt gepflanjt notben, unb bie ^ue^i^t >ftf bag no(6 tiiti ntt^r (ttp^anjt toeiben. S>ei ^oitfc^titt, bei etgennaTHge @tanb unb bit jutunftigtR QJuBfic^ten unfetti Horticultural Society fmb fe^r juf riebenftedenb. @tnt wicEitiee iSiftnba^ti, bie Sgabnf^, buK^frcujt baS @.ounl4 uon @iiboft nait 9toibtDefl. ^ai Sountq ^at nienig obti flat ftine Sibulbcn unb bie Sa^en finb niebiig. @enug auegc^tic^nele Sc^ulen unb Jtir^cn. Sxr Sobtn i^ fruc^tbaiunb tignet fic^ am aQetbeflen fur Dbftjudjt. 9Sir ^aben ^la^ fur mt^t ^ntfimmlinge, nomentliib fiit tol^t. bie fi(i| bti Obftjuc^t mibmtn, unb ^eigen fie btr^ltcb nilltoffimcn.
S- b 1 1 ft, § a u f 1 1.
SRilflliebeT bet^ugo 06ff> unb Garten bau<@l(fe[If(gaft:
9IIe Somite iibtr bie bui4 ^iije neiurfa^ten .ffiranf^etttn i>ti jfeinobfteS, I)abe 14 §olgenbe8 ju betiiiiten ;
St^i grofieii @Anbfn bcruifat^ten bie fogenonnten dtcftfleden an btn Sepfein (Fusicladium dentriticum). ®a6 faltf, ftu^tt Sgttter lefetcB J^tii^laftt mar febr giinpig jui SntmidEung unb jCeimung btr Fletnen ^anien'AoTpeiAtn, welilbe tibci- baupt fo ririn finb, ba| fie mit bem nactten ^uge gar nii^t gtfetifn meiben tonnen. 2aut I(|tten SetmeifunBtn betragt i^re ®ro6e 1-2500 jtoH Steite unb 1- 250 SoD gonge. Biefe Kfirpttditn Bifg'n im griibialir in ber Suft 6«um unb fejen (i(^ Quf bie titinen ftifdigefottnten Slelifel, mo biefelbtn fogEei^ teimen, baS i^ Dcnn bie <Sit> tetung gunflig ba(U ifl. ©an^ nienige baoon teimen bei roatmrm unb troifenem SBSetter. ©8 fcStint, bag etliie aepftlforttn biefer Rtontbtit argtt auSgefeftt finb aiS iinbere. SWeine Missouri Pippin, Lavirver, Bed June unb Sweet June maien not^ nii^t gtBger alS flirfdjcn, dI6 ftbon bie griintn fammttfarbigen gledcn bemertbat muiben, ntlcbe fi(^ fo fi^neD DtrgrBlerltn, bafi bii ^epfel tlcin unb nttt^loB blieben.
@o tiiel ii^ eerneiimt, finb in ben (c|t(n ^tittn diemif^e a7ti;tuien etn))fo^len norbtn, um bit 93aumt bamit ju btfpti^en unb baS £tinien bet llrinen @amcn> fi5r|}er$en ^u berbinbtrti. 9i ift natiiTlid) (ti^t ju begieifen, ba^ curatibc 3Rittel feinen SScrtd bobtn ronneti, fonbecn bafi nut prdoenliDe cifolgrdi^ ftin tonnen, unb miiffen biefelben ni(f|t}U f(ar( fein unb mabtenb bfrgunftigi1tn3"tangen)tnbet
878 8TA.TE HOETIOULTUBAL BOOIBTT.
neiben. Wtint 9{nft4t barubti; ijt, bag tin 9Rann tin gutti ^lobaikiex fein mug, urn Don bet \>raU\ii)tn ^niDctibung bitfei VtitM flutt Dtefultate etjitltn ^u fonnen. 3(^ fann m(t|t ft^cn, iDatum man ficb tPiet mit benjenigen ^tt)fe[(orttn, bie biefe; ffrantfifit am meifttn unttrmorftn finb, qualtn foQ. SDtttn 9tal^ an bit Witglit* bet bttfti @efeQf(^aft be|iE|alb ii't, bitftlben Sotten umjUpfTopftn, no bie ®aume gcfunb finl), anbetnfaQS fie auSiugraben unb unbebingt (eine foliftt Morten mti|E gu pf(anjen. @S iR Iti^t ju begreifcn, bafi je wtnigeT Mtfer unbiauAbaien 9ltpfel tm Saumflarten lirqtn bitiben, je wcnigci @amtn im gnibja^t: boe^anben fein fann. golgenbe Sorten finbe iift am nenigfien oiefen fftofiflerfen aulgtft^t aa fein : Wine sap, B. Davis, Jonathan, W. Twig, G-rimes, M. Blush, Renoni, Baldwin, Duchess, R. Astrachan unb Yellow Transparent.
@ine anbeit buret ^iljc DeTUTfa(^te fiiantbeit ift ber foatnannte ERojl ober Roestetia S)ie iicbenegefc^ii^fe bieftr ^'df,t ifl ft^r ihttTefTont, befonbeid baburdi, bag man biefelben in einem ®tabium an ben totfien S-ebetn (virg Jimiphus) (inbet, tnd^Tenbbem in einem anbeten Stabium bie milbcn &rabe (Pirua coronaria) unb bit cultiDtiten Slepfel bamit bebnfCet finb. IJa jtbo^ biefe flranfEfeit bier notb teinen SdiabtR get^an biit* fo ift ti ni(^t noltiiDtnbig, DitI barubtc ju fagen. Cte Soulard Grab ift bit tin^tge @ort(, moran it^ biefe ^iEjt bemerft bob;.
@int anbttc ft^r f{^ablid|t Jtianf^tit ift bei Sonntnbranb an btn 9)irnen (Pear Blight), unb t8 fc^tint biefelbt immtt nocfi tin Btatbftl fur bie feetBorraflenb* ften 9Taturfoir(4tr. 3<^ Derlor baburi) le|ten @onimcr brei %dume, Doyenne unb Ella, bie i4 ^attt son bUfet Sortt, jroei SBaume Le (Jon e, einen Clapp's Favorite unb einen ^albtn %aum Bloodgood. T^aB tinjigt ^itttl, baS ii} meig, ift, roai ubtc^aupt f^on lange bti SBaumjiiditern btlannt ift : bit angtftetften S^eile beS SaumeS ttma fec^e ^oi unter^alb ber trant^nfttn @telle abjuf^neibtn unb ju btt* brenntn. l^.S fei jebotf) no4 btmerrt, ba| el abfolut not^ntnbig ift, bai 3Rtfftt obet bie@age gut }U reinJQtn, btDor bieftlbeongefunb(n¥aumen gebiaui^tuirben. Srgebenft,
ff. Sionberger.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY HOBTIOULTUEAL SOCIETY.
At the December meeting of Hugo Obat and OartenbBngesellscliaft, beld at the residence of Fred Utz on Deeember 23, among other biisi- ness the following proceedinj^s were had :
The minates were read and adopted, after which Mr. F. Lionberger atmnonnced the death of D. S. Holmao, late Treasnrer of the State Horticnltaral society, at the same time making a motion that a com- mittee of obituary be appointed.
Motion adopted, and the following committee was appointed: F. Lionberger, Fred Utz and W. Loane.
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MIBOBLLANEOnS PAPBBB. 379.
The Committee on Orcbards then reported trees in flue condition, with wood well ripened. Serions complaintB were made aboat the damage done by the codling moth the past seaeon. The life history of the insect waa tbea explained by F. Lionberger, as well aa the mode of destroying them by spraying, after which a general discnssion followed. It was farther reported by the committee that the apple had been very much affected by scab, especially Mo. Pippin, Lawver, Red June, Sweet Jane and Early Harvest.
Mr. Dtz — My Winesap were even more affected than Mo. Pip- pin; they all cracked open.
*Mr. Gntmann — My experience with Winesap is the same; I have not got a perfect Winesap in my cellar.
Mr. F. Lionberger — I did not get any Winesap at all, and bo could not compare them.
Mr. TTtz — Ben Davis was less affected than any other.
The cycle of the life of the fungns in question was then expl^ned by F. Lionberger ; also, the remedies giving the best results to prevent the spreading of the disease.
The above caused a lengthy discnesion. It was finally agreed apon that in order to meet with any success in spraying, it was neces- aary to become better acquainted with the life-history of the faogaa.
Mr. Lionberger — How about the borers t
Mr. F. Gutmann — Plenty of them, that is the round beaded spe- cies, bat no flat-beads were noticed.
It was agreed that a wash with soft soap (not too strong), with a little sulphur or carbolic acid, wonld beep them off.
Mr. Lionberger — It is very important t-o see that the wash is ap- plied at the proper time.
Mr. Gntmann — I lose a good many trees {torn a disease at the col- lar. It seems to commence below the gronnd, working npward, caus- ing the bark to decay. I think that we ought to make some inquiries about the disease.
The subject of small fruits was then taken up :
Mr. Uts — Oumberland looks better at present than any other variety I have.
F. Kimmicb — Orescent looks best at my place.
F, Gntmann — Michel's Early is the fastest grower I have ; it looks the best of any I have at present. Bubach No. 5 is a slow grower ; however, the plants are very stocky. Sbarpless and Jersey Qneen ahow the least vigor of any.
F. Lionberger — While I admit that a good strawberry should be a fine grower, yet it must not be understood that the slow grower cannot be profitable. The feeble growers I think should be planted closer
380 STATE HOaTIOULTHHAL 8O01BTT.
For instance, Jersey Qaeen planted at ten inches would not mat over the groand any more than Michel's Early at three feet. At my place Michel's Early shows the most vigor; next, Crescent, Warfleld No. 2, Gandy and Haverland. Gnmberlaud and Bnbach JS'o. 5 I find to be slower groweTB, bat they make fine stocky plants, forming nice stools. Jessie and Harts' Minnesota I expect to drop &om my list by another season.
A member — What abont blackberries 1
F. Lionberger — Kittatinny is my best. In sections where it is not sabject to rnst, it is yet ahead of others. Western Triamph and LawtoD are also good. Snyder is the most hardy, and is Talnable where most others fail.
A few remarks were then made on vineyards.
F. Gatmann — I do not think that we prane close enough in the spring. We ask too mach from onr vines. I also believe in trtuning the bearing canes np high. Fruit that is high np on the trellis does not seem to rot so badly with me. Elvira rotted the most for me the past season, while Ives and MisBonri Biesling were the most exempt.
A few remarks were then made on ornamentals by F. Lionberger.
A report by the Committee on Injorioas Fungi was next read, after which a short discassion was had. This sabject bad received considerable attention at the beginning of the meeting.
Next was a short lecture on practice Botany by F. Lionberger, ex- plaining the cell strncture of the trees, cirenlation of the sap, manner of growth, etc.
W. Loane next annonnced the serious illness of J. J. Gentry of Big Spring, who is au honorary member of the society. It was agreed for some of the membei-s to visit him.
Committee on Obituary then reported the following resolutions:
Whirbas, Agktn the bortlcnltorUtB of the State of Hlssoarl are reminded of the nncertaloty of lifo and called to mourn the Iom of one of their co-worlcen in the person of the late Treaeorer of our 3tate Hortloaltiir»I society, D. S. Holmao;
WBEREta. Hr. Holman was one of the oldest members of oar State Hortlonl- tnral society, and a life-long hortlcultarlst ; he was a man of maTked ability and one whose acqiialntaace and frleodBhlp was held In high esteem by all who were fortunate enough to poBseae them ; be it therefore
Raalned, By the HogoObst nnd Oartenbaugesellshaft, that in hUdepartare wo have lOBt a falthfal oo-laborer. and that we will attempt to continue the work h« bas left behind him by emulating his rlrtues and practtclpg the good example be- set fbr onr Imitation.
Saolttd, That we will extend to the mourning friends onr heartfelt aympa- tbleafoT their loss.
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MlBOBLLANSlOnS FAPBRy. S81
!, Thmt « copy of these resolutions he tranemltted by onr correepond- (ng KcretsiT to the family of our departed brntber.
F. LiOHBKitaBB, Prbd Utz,
W. LOANE.
The resolationB after beiag read were ODBnimously ailopted.
Mr. Lionberger then epoke of the importance of holding regnlar meetings, to revise the list of standing committees; he was also in favor of holding a fruit show .during smumer and &11, and above all, «ee that onr Society is properly represented at the next winter meet- ing of the State Horticnttnral Bociety, to be held at Sedalia. We mast send one or more delegates with a good display of frnit, in order to show to Uie State what we are doing. It will not be long antil we will have apples to ship in quantities, and I can see no better way to ad- vertise onr frnit than to make exhibits whenever there is a cbance for ns to do so.
After the transaction of some important basineBS, the Society ad- journed.
F. LlONBEBQEB,
Corresponding Secretary.
HENRY COUNTY HOKTICULTURAL SOCIETY.
Olintoh, Mo., November 1, 1890. Mr. L. A. OooDUA.IT, Secretary of State SortieuUural Sonets:
I herewith submit a partial history of the Henry Connty Horticul* tnral society and Henry county resoarces.
The Henry County Hortionltoral society was organized March the Sth, 1884. For a time its progress was slow. The attendance of ^nit- growers and others was limited, yet this society, with its few members, continued its monthly meetings; by hard work added a few members each year. June the 9th, 1887, we adopted a constitution. We now commenced to have eammer meetings at the coantry homes of oar members. The meetings were more of a saccess, as it seemed more like a picnic and social gathering. All would bring their baskets filled of the many good things to eat and feast on what our horticultnral ladies had prepared for these occasions. Each meeting became more interesting. Essays were read on horticulture, floriculture and re- marks for the good of oar society. We, as a society, concluded to make a display of our fruits and flowers at our county fair. Commit- tees were at once appointed. The best, nicest and most nearly perfect
382 BTA.TE HOBTIOULTUBAL 800IETY,
fraits vere gathered, such as apples, peaches, plnms, grapes, pears, qainoea and other kinds of frnit. All were arranged in floral hall oo &ir gronnds. All that saw the exhibit coald hardly believe snch an exhibit could be made of fruits gathered in Henry county. Besides this mnch other frnit was exhibited by priTate parties. This society vas awarded first premiam. This exhibit did not only show that our coanty coald raise a few Tarieties, bat many varieties of all kinds of frnits of the best qnality. This exhibit has commanded the attention of many of onr best citizens. They now are taking a oommercial view of it. Getting interested in one thing, and not, ie another. When they see the thousands of barrels of apples shipped from this coanty, at good prices, this year and other years, the question is asked, what kind of apple tree to plant for profit ; how to keep rabbits off, and borers oat of trees. In the first place, we woald say to one wanting to plant a commercial orchard, to take the experience of those who have had experience, of those nearest to him, if he has had no experi- ence. It ie a mistaken idea to plant many varieties. Any one who plants an orchard for profit expects to make money by so doing, and it is very essential that he plant right. He need not make any serious mistake; in fact, there should be no mistake with one having experi- ence by which he has profited. With the new planter it is different, as he has access to the experience of him who has planted many kinds of fruit trees. If be is a close observer and up to snaff, he will see at once which is hardiest, best bearer, and for market; he woald say, I always see apples on the Ben Davis apple trees every year, and ship- pers want them and pay the highest price in this eoonty for them. Yes, we say the Ben Davis grows in every part of this coanty.
This coanty lying directly in the great fomoas f^uit belt of Mis- soari, its soil and climate are adapted to the Ben Davis. iN'ext best is the Limber Twig in the southwestern part of the county. So far as known, the Jonathan does as well in same sections. Success sorely will follow the man that will plant a Ben Davis orchard in this coanty, if he does not neglect it.
Second question — How to keep rabbits from eating the tree. This is easy. Use a strip of fiy screen around the tree ; cheap and effect- ive, and the same is used to keep the borer beetle from depositing her eggs in the trees, yet the trees each year shoold be examined for borers; if foand, gouge them out with a gouge.
I am now taking too much time aside of a report of our Society. I will get back to our fruit exhibit at the fair. Our premiam fruit was packed in barrels, nine in all, and sent to Southwest Missouri Immi- gration society, to Secretary J. K. Gwynn, in Exposition bnildiag, St.
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UISOELLANBOUB PAPBBS. 383
Loaie. Onr winter meetings vere beld in Clintoa, as asual, in the court-room or some office. The following sommer onr meetings were held at the members' honaes, giving premiums at all of these meetings for best display of all kinclB of frnit, honorable mention for best vege* table display, also bonqoets.
Lasb fall our meeting was jnat before the State meeting, to beheld at Lebanon. I was instruoted to correspond at once with Mr. Good- man, State Secretary at Lebanon to have the State meeting at Clinton next time, aesnring them a pleasant time, and that the citizens of Clinton would be as liberal as on other occasions.
This Society ielt as though she needed help, and this is what they wanted — a State meeting to receive instructions ft'om the best horticnl- tnrists in and out of the State. We in dae time got notice that the State meeting wonld be held in Clinton, Henry county. We, as a society, entertained the idea of having a good time at this meeting when in session here. Onr last summer's meetings were a sacceBs all the way tbroQgb ; giving premiums for best display of fruits of the different kinds ; we also gave fifty cents for best bouquet, and ten cents each for the next foar best. All boaquete exhibited were sold before the close of the meeting to the highest bidder, and the money tamed over to the treasury. The essay reading bas been improved over other years. We have generally been so situated at the places of meeting to have both instmmental and vocal music dunng these meetings. Onr membership again increased this year. Onr treasury always has had some funds in it, yet nothing to boast of.
Sow we are in the midst of the State meeting, and I hope onr members and citizens will entertain the ofBcers and delegates tcoui every quarter of the State. We ask all to examine into the resources of Henry county while here. Her farming lands, both prairie and timber, for stock raising ; nearly all her lands are adapted to fruit-grow* ing ; her coal fields, churches, college and academy ; her public schools are not snrpassed in the State ; the convenience of three railroads and water-courses throughout the county. Clinton has some attractions — the great artesiau wells, street railway, gas, electric light, potteries and pressed brick factory; her large mills, and another is being erected with a capacity of 600 barrels per day, its elevators, etc. Henry county people are a church-going people. This means a social and generous people. We, as a society, have tried to make this State meeting a grand success, and one of the best, or at least as good as any ever held in the State. We hope all officers and delegates to this meeting have made many warm friends while here.
Yours respectftilly,
J. M. PBSTzmaEB, Secretary.
9Si STATE HOBXICITLTUBAL SOEIETT.
DRYING LARGE FLESHY FLOWERS.
There are some parts of plants that lose a great deal of their beanty, not to say characteristic shape, by the ordinal? process of dry- ing for preservation between paper under pressnre. For example, the leaves of the various kinds of pitcher plants are ao longer the round loDg sacs for holding water that they were when growing, and the large blossoms of fontastic shapes so oonspicnons, strange and beautifnl in the orchid fomily lose nearly all, in ordinary drying, that made them attrac- tive while A-eeh. Many persons with conservatories wish to preserve some of tbe flora} specimens in a dry state, bat nsnally give op in de- spair after one or two attempts in the ordinary dry way or by means of the various solntions that have been recommended from time to time.
Boring the past two years some experiments have been made with a view of flndins some cheap and convenient way of preserving the tender parts of plants or those of pecnliar shape in their normal form. Nothing has been fonnd that is better than hay-seed. For a body like the pitcher of a cepbalotns, timothy seed is excellent. The pitcher may be placed in a vessel containing the seed, the cavity or " pitcher" being filled with the same material. I have simply hnng the pitcfaerB up in the open air dUed with the seed, and had them dry in perfect form. With the tender fontaetic orchid flowers for example, some of the lighter grass seeds, as those of red-top, are better. The main point is to have a light and absorbent snbstance that will All ap the cavities and at the same time be of some weight to hold the slenderest part in place. I have had some of the orchid flowers with long slender floral parta several inches long dried in this way, that is, packed in grass seed, and they have held their shape and mach of their color for a year pinned to ft door casing in the laboratory.
The method is so simple that any one can practice it. Tbe material is cheap and the results are satisfactory. Simply have a large-moathed vessel — I nsed straight-sided glass jars, holding a half-gallon — and fill in the seed aronnd the specimens carefnlly, and let them stand in a dry warm room. — Byron D. Salated.
FUNGI. This year it lias been nrged that fangi may be the caase of a wide- spread and complete feilure. This generalization explains many of the obscurities which others do not, and it is abundantly supported by facts. It is no doubt true that fungi spread more rapidly than for-
MISGBLLAKBOUS PAPERS. 386
merly, because of the greater number and continaity of orchards, jnet as conta^ons diseasee spread filter io cities thau Id the conntry. In the small and isolated orchards of former days, ftingi and insectA were con- flned within closer areas. This phenomenon of rapid distribution, dae to greater extent of host-plants, may be termed communal intennto.
The fangi which have been connected thns £ar with this breath of destmotion are the scab fangi, as apple, pear the quince scab, the earl- leaf of the peach and the frait-rots of the cherry and plara. They spread with marvelons rapidity in certain cool and wet springs, and as they exist year after year in nearly all localities to a greater or less ex- tent, it is not strange that nnder &vorable conditions they inflict wide areas. All this suggests a broader study of these fungi than mere life histories. Meteorolo^cal conditions, the general method of their trans- port, the kind of cultivation and the varieties in the orchards, and the relations of extent of orcharding to the it^nry done, demand thought.
But we doubt if the failure of the apple crop as a whole this year is due entirely to any one or all of these oansee. Even the forest trees in many regions are unproductive, although they were not injured by frosts, nor by insects, and we know of no fungi which conld cause the &ilnre. In short, considered in the broadest sense, we do not yet know why fruit crops simnltaneously fail over many states. The injuries to ft^t after it has foirly set can be seen and traced, but this wholesale death of flowers and very young fruits is an obscure problem. The canses which we have discnssed, except possibly in the case of frost — which is easily observed — are evidently too local or iusufBcient to admit of universal application. Who is the philosopher to enlighten oar ignorance t — American Garden,
WHO IS THE THEOBISTt "Those theoretical fellows," the experimenters and professors, cut a strange figure in the minds of many good people. It is the espe- cial function of certain speakers at the winter meetings to ridicule them and their "hobbies," even while commanding their hearers to plant squashes in the old of the moon in June, and to pick geese only when the moon is on the increase, lest the feathers shrink I Even before one of the great horticultaral meetings of the year, a prominent speaker characterized the experimenters as "theoreticians" who would not be likely to see the difference between varieties of plants I We had not supposed before that even the theorist is deficient in powers of direct observation I
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386 STATE HOBTIOUI.TUBAL 80CIBTT.
This mnch-abneed word theory is ased by these persons to desig- nate any wild, absard or impracticable notion. Time waa that bypoth- eeee of donbtfal character were projected by the teacherB ; bat even then they were far fewer than is commonly snpposed. And even those theories which have died of their own frailty have served an essentif^ parpose in the discovery of IkctB. Truth is, the teachers are in ad- vance of the practice and thought of their time, and their worlc is never appreciated nntil it is s€en in retrospect. This is necessarily so^ for the teacher's function is to lead.
Bot who, at the present time, is the theorist, in the common mean- ing of that word ! Who plants his crops " in the moon I " Who fears to touch the heart of the tree, else he trill kill it t Who washes his apple trees to olo^e the pores and keep oat germs 1 Who will not hoe his beans when the dew is on, for fear of blasting them t Who pats snlphar into (he pe%r trees to kill the blight! Who carries pumpkin seeds in his tronsers pocket to make the vines productive f Who BOWS tnmips on the " 25th of Jnly, wet or dryt" A person can hear more " theory " at one farmers' institnte than at all the agricnltaral colleges combined. — American Garden.
" Popular Soience Kews" gives a report of the meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, held recently at Leeds, from which it appears that a large part of one day was devoted by the biologists to a consideration of the subject of teaching botany in schools, introduced by an able paper by Professor Marshall Ward. Botany, he urged, should be taught, not in order that names and foets may be committed to memory, but that habits of accurate observation may be acquired by the pupil, and great principles and laws grasped which in future may be applied under any special conditions. In these views he was supported by the eminent biologists present, who, one and all, agreed that it is time to leave the blind worship of foots, and. Instead of measuring a scholar's progress by the amoant of dogmatio information imbibed and put into an examination paper, to look to his understanding of the relation between focts and the intelligence with which he describes what he sees.
ROSE-BUDS ON A MISSION OF OHABITT.
In a large hospital a young girl has wasted away day by day with
consumption. Visiting ladies snpplied her with books, delicacies, etc.
She al ways had a pleasant "thank you" for these kindnesses, but seemed
unusually reserved as regards her religious feeling. One morning I
MISCBLLANBOUB PAPBB8. 387
«iit some of my lovely rose-bads, and tied them wtth a few gpriga of migDooette, and wisbiog that the poor child might really believe a lov- ing Heavenly Father had sent them, I wrote on a card and &st«ned it OD the Btems, "Gome onto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give yoa rest." I went to her bed, bat her face was hidden, and her Blight form coavnlsed with sobs. In her hand she held a traot, and my eyes glanced at these words: "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might, for there is no work nor device in the grave whither thou art hastening;*' and underneath that, "Ye serpents I how can ye escape the damnation of hell V The lady that gave her the tract was probably a Gbristian, bat a stern and cmel one. "Look here,^ dear child," said I. She took the lovely flowers, read the comtorting text, laid her oheek against them and marmnred: "God is good. He loves me ; I am not afraid." The flower mission is a beantifal chanty. Lst as carry these lovely blossoms to the sick, the sorrowfal and the erring instead of these dreadfol tracts. The dowers will always teach a heavenly lesson. The tracts may do real harm and cause positive «aS'eriag. — Sitter Oraoioua in ^m. Garden.
Boees need a good etlff clay soil, well enriched. If the soil is sandy, ■clay should be used with it. Daily attention should be given to the ■slug pest daring the early part of the summer ; bat tobacco has at last shown its aeeful side. If a strong decoction is ft'eqaentiy applied it will soon exterminate these mollascs, and besides act as a asefal stimu- lant to the plant.
At the approach of winter bank earth about the roots of your roses, some six inches or more ; and after the first light freeze or jast before, Add farther protection in the shape of leaves fosteoed aboat the tops with brush or stakes. Evergreen boughs are still better, as they let in the air and do not hold dampness. In the spring, after removing the outer protection, cut back to the green wood. Often the entire plant will come out green and healthy, but it should be praned severely, if yonng, healthy flowering shoots are desired. The mound of earth may -' be removed later.
Among the most hardy, best flowering roses, are La France, LooIr'; Van Hoatte, Hermosa, Glorie de Dijon, Perle des Jardins. Theee ' bloom all the sammer long, especially if well pruned, and this is b^U' done by catting ihe roses, bad and bloom, as fast as they appear. The stingy florist saves the flrst flowers, and thereby loses many later ones — not heeding that wherever one rose is cut with plenteous stem, two or three will appear in its place.
888 BTATB HOETIOULTUBAI, SOCIBTT.
To the lover of flowers do one kind can afford more pleaaore or profit with 80 little labor as the roee. It bids fiur to become the &to^ ite among all onr snmmer and sutamn flowers. Etch the popalar chrys- anthemnm cannot in oar aatnmn days qnite eclipse the equally popo- lar rose. — H. K., Oermantovm, 0., in Am. Garden.
FEUIT- GEO WING IN MISSOURI.
An addTQflB by B. 8. HIIm, of Oray'a Summit, MiBsoarl, before the Farmers' Insti- tute of MUboutI, 1891,
I have been engaged in the basiness of fruit-growing, and espe- cially apple raisiDg, for the last forty years, and have now growing on my farm in this coanty, apple orchards containing about seven thoDsand trees, of ages ranges ftom seven to forty years.
I wonld say to the beginner that the first thing to be considered in planting oat an orchard is the selection of a locality. Don't £eu1 to- select the best piece of groand yoa have on yoor &rm. There ia not half 80 mnch depending on the lay of the groand as there is in the quality of the groand. Almost any gronad in this connty that will produce a good crop of com will be suitable for an apple orchard.
Select thrifty yoang trees {not over two years old). Flaat the trees not nearer together than thirty feet each way. Plant either late in the &11 or early in the spring. Be sure that the roots of yonr trees neither get dry nor frozen after being taken from the narsery aad before plant- ing in the orchard. Be very particular about planting; plant in the orchard about two inches deeper than the trees grew in the nursery. See that the dirt is well pulverized and well filled in among the roots and reasonably well packed down, but not too hard, with the roots ia their natural position.
As soon as the tree is planted, prune it. Always remember that there is very much depending apon the proper praniug of an apple tree. Commeuoe right and attend to it often, and you will never have very much pruning to do. At the first pruniog (at the time the tree is planted) it is absolutely necessary that the top be cut back as mnch as %he roots have been cat back in takipg the tree from the ground ia the nursery, and often more than that. Never plant a forked tree.
If the tree was forked in the nursery, be sure that you take off one of the prongs when you plant it in the orchard. After the first pruning — which should be done when the tree is planted — there is more danger of pruning too much than too little. If properly pruned while the tree is young and small, it will very seldom be necessary to cut out
inBCELI.4NB0nS PAFBBa. 389
laxgb limbB from trees wheQ they get older. There is often serioas harm done in cutting oat large limbs from bearing apple trees. If a large limb is all taken off entirely baok close to the body of the tree or back to a larger limb, the wound thns made will nearly always make a dead place, aud in a few years it will rot ont and make a hollow place, which injures the tree far more than the living limb ever woold have injured the tree if left on.
If at any time yon decide that a large living limb most be taken ■off, don't ont it off entirely back to the body, bnt cnt it off fer enough from the body so that there may be some living limbs on the stab to ^eep it alive. As to the best time io the year to do prauing, I think there is not likely to come any harm from taking off small limbs at any time of the year, bat where heavier penning is to be done, the proper time is in the taXi, after the leaves have fallen, or early winter. A few words on the cultivation of the orchard, and I will close. As soon as or before you plant out your orchard, bnild a good strong fence around it, and never at any season of tbe year allow any stock of any kind in it, except to cultivate it, or to haul out the fruit. For the first five .years plow and cultivate the ground well np to the first of July each year, bnt don't stir the ground later than that, lest yoa keep the trees growing too late in the season. The trees need rest -after the first of ■July to ripen up the yonng wood and prepare for winter. After the orchard has been plaoted five years, sow it down to clover and plow under tbe clover once a year, late in the fall or early in spring. liTever cultivate any crop in the orchard except apples.
FEBTILIZEBS FOK ORCHARDS. From Pratrl« Farmer.
Replying to Mr, Yont's query as to the proper manarial element to supply to his orchards, I would advance tbe following as the result of my experience and study of the subject:
Mr. T. leaves it to be inferred that on the plat from which norsei? etock was taken no manure whatever had been used, hence we can be nearly certain that the original elements in the soil, snch as were sait- .able for tree growth, must be to a certain extent exhansted. A little reflection wUI show that a study of the constituents of wood ashes will •be a reliable guide as to the material taken from the land by a crop of young trees. I will again refer to this after the second part of his ques- tion has been noticed.
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880 STATE HOETIOULTUEAL BOOIBTT.
What element of fertility ebonld be given an old orchard after bear- iDt; man; apple crops may be disclosed by a consideration af the orchard aa a whole : what do the body, foliage and frait of tiie trees respectively take from tbe soil T and of the elements so reqaired,ou1y sncfa as ore entirely removed from the orchard need be considered at this time, as it is only by the permanent loss of fertility that ground Is impoverished^ We readily nnderetand that the trank and branches of an apple tree^ altbongb nsing maoh plant food, yet alone coald not occasion loss, as tbe essential part, or sap, is to a great extent returned to the roots;, even the sap which sustains the leaves is largely restored to the tree before the leaves fall. The portion which remains in the leaves when they reach the ground is given to the soil by thtir decay, especially where tbe snrface is protected from sweeping winds. Where the leaves are blown away or gathered for bedding some loss of fertility occurs, bat It is so incoDSidernble that many years wonid not greatly rob an orchard. It is plain, therefore, that it is to a stndy of the frnit and its constitaent elements that we mast look for the caase of the infertility or Mr, Yont's old orchard, especially as he mentions that many crops oV fruit have been taken off; here is a continued drain with noretarn. An analysis of the apple shows that in each ten pounds of fruit there is but .008 ponnd of nitrogen, hence we see that this element is hnt little needed in ao apple orchard. Of phosphoric acid in the same amonnt of fruit there is still less, or only .001 pound, which goes mainly to- seed formation, hence there is no real necessity for applying this ele- ment except as it natarally exists In combination with other fertilizers.
There is in ten pounds of apples a large quantity of potash, being .013 pound, and in an average crop of 15,000 pounds per acre, therfr would be had nineteen and a half pounds, the whole of which would be absolutely and totally removed from the orchard soil ; in ten similar average crops almost two hundred pounds of this fertilizing material would be taken from each acre, and the most natural result is that the orchard ceases to bear, simply becaase |tbere is nothing whatever to- make fruit of. Owing to this robbery even the trees do not remain vigorous, and who can blame them t
The above is a simple statement of a condition of things all over the conatry, where the owners, like oar correspondent, cannot ander- stand why the old orchard, which formerly yielded enormous crops^ does not now pay for the pruning. I have tried to make plain and clear the caase, and will now give the remedy, which is eqoally simple and is only this : Apply manure containing the proper ingredients, and your orchards will again become productive and your young plantations will be kept in thrifty, vigorous condition.
HIBOBLLAKBOUS PAPBSS. 391
Now, the most nataral and in many respects the most economical mannre that can be applied to an orchard is aoleacbed wood ashes, especially if they caa be obtained near at hand, or parchased at any price less than a half cent per ponad. In a ton of ashes there shoold be abcnt 140 pounds of potash in a form most readily aTailable by the tree roots, besides snfflcient phosporic acid and a small quantity of nitrogen. Besponsible dealers quote ^od ashes at $10 per too, inclod* ing freight, and this is about as cheap as any commercial fertilizer that can be aecnred, and one Imows juet what he is applying.
The main objection to the application of barn-yard manure is that it contains snch a preponderance of elements which go to forming a rank, woody growth at the expense of the ftait; bot of course it is far better than none, applied as directed by the editor in the January 17th issue.
Betnming to the question of the fertilizing substance removed by the nursery stock, we must understand that in this case it was the trunk ot tree which was entirely removed. Now, if instead of being sold these yoang trees had been burned, whai wonld have been left t Ashes certainly, and as we have foand that fifty poands of tiieae ashes contain nearly three and ooe-half pounds of potash, this most have been the substance most largely taken from the soil, and this was done jnst as effectually as tbongh the trees had been taken away and burned instead of being sold. Ashes then, as with trait, is indicated as the proper fertilizer.
As it is possible that for many western orchardista it is more ood- Tcnient to secnre other fertilizing elements instead of ashes, I give a formula which will give nearly a perfect mannre for an apple orchard. For other fruits it woold be necessary to change the quantities of the ingredients somewhat, in order to give them jnst the food most suit- able:
COUFLBTB lUMUftS K)K APPLES.
75 lbs. nitrate of potaeh .
lOlbB. acid phosphate....
astbi. nitrate of soda....
Total
S2 7K 1 36 1 W
$5 00
Here at the highest retail prices we see snCBolent manure for an acre of orchard will cost only $S, and at ton prices less than $2.60, so that on the score of cost no one can allow his orchards to run out. Moreover, if the above qnaiitity is applied every three years out of five, it will amply supply all demands likely to be made upon the soil.
D.-inz'isK'^.wO'
igle
S92 8TATB HORTIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
Ad objection to the nse of fertilizere like the above is, that tbey ■ are bo conceDtrated — that is, makeso little balk— that itiaaot an easy matter to get them evenly applied over the entire area. In oonse- qaence, the above materiale ebonld be mixed together, and then sev- eral handred or more pounds of dry eartb added and thoroughly mixed, as this w^Ol moke the proper distribation Car easier. Land plaster may also be used in place of the earth, bat the application shoald be made immediately after the mixing, not allowing the mixtare to stand in a mass for any length of time. Elueb E. Suhuby.
BETTBE COUNTRY ROADWAYS. L. Brraot, before Narthern lllloolB Hort. Societf. The best road is a raised, hard roadway, the center of gravel, mac- adam, or similar material, with a side track on one or both sides for light driving and travel in dry weather. Good drainage is an essential feature, and dr^ns shoald be of saffloient capacity. The ideal road- way shoald be seeded to grass where not ased, evened ap, weeds kept down, all noxioaa ones being cat ont by the roots, with the sides hav* ing an easy slope. Shade trees shoald be planted close enough to keep oat the fierce snnlight, but not near enough to prevent a growth of grass. Refuse should not be damped in the streets. Weeds when pulled up shoald not be thrown into the streets to dry, and their seeds distributed by passing vehicles. This matter of weeds should be attended to by highway officers. The mowing of grass may be left to individaal taste. The old system of road districts and district over- seers should be abolished, and the work left to three road commis- sioners, one of whom should have the necessary time and ability to personally supervise the work. O-o to the town meetings and see to it that the highway commissioners are instructed to destroy noxious weeds, and put the roads in order. Local highway improvement socie- ties covering a certain definite portion of road shoald be formed, and meet once a month, and a committee appointed who should advise property owners as to needed operations. Pasturing in highways, if carried out systematically, is not hurtful, though general ranging should not be allowed. — 0. Judd Farmer.
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MISCELLAHBOTTB PAPEB8. 393
LOJTGEVITT OP PEAOH TREES.
The short dnr»Uon of the peach of late ;earB has attracted more Attention than the apple. There are many oasnal observers who jatnp to the fionclasion that the practice of baddlng is the cause of this, and to those who onl; look at the outside there is mach to support this view. From the window where I write I can look out on a lot of seed- ling peach trees, whose age lean only guess at, bat which cannot be less than twenty-five years. They are pictures of health.' Budding is sot, per ae, responsible for the failure, I think, but rather the careless- neas of our nurserymen in growing stocks for budding. All over the land there has been an insane sort of impression that peaches mast be budded apon stocks raised from eoathern natural seed. These seeds are collected by country store-keepers in Virginia, North Oarolina, Tennessee and elsewhere — and are almost invariably saved ttom half- ripe peaches cut for drying. They are not only half ripe, but fi'om the fltuBted, starved trees one sees all through this country. The constant use of seed of sach poor vitality is largely the cause of the short life «f the tree budded on these stocks. The late Col. Edward Wilkins, of Maryland, at one time the largest peach-grower in the state, had a theory that much of the trouble of orchardists came ftrom the trees being budded on dissimilar stocks — a late peach on seed from an early one, etc.
He oaoe raised a large orchard in accordance with this idea. He saved seed from the earliest to the latest peaches, and budded tbem with similar sorts. The seeds were all from budded trees, yet this orchard was one of the longest lived and most successful orchards in the peach district. Many of the trees grew to an enormous size, and when Col. Wilkins built the present mansion at Peach-tree hall, the newel post of the grand stairway, a very largeand ornamental one, was turned from the solid heart^wood of a giant peacb tree. This newel post, in its finished state, if I remember right, is nearly one foot in diameter. The members of the American Pomological Society who attended the meeting in Baltimore in 1877, visited this place, and many will doubtless remember the peach-tree stairway. I firmly believe tbat if oar norserymeQ would select their seed f^om healthy trees, without any regard to their being seedlings, the success of budded trees would soon be equal to the seedling ones. — W. F. Maasey, North Carolina Bx' periment Station.
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BT1.TB HUKTIOOLTUBAI, SOOIETT.
PRESERVING FRUITS.
To every gallon of water use two teaBpoonfalH of powdred snlptiar. Lay the sulphur on a dish. Place yoar frnit, water anil SDlphar ia a tightly closed bos. Set fire to the sulphur, close the lid of the box, BDd allow the articles to remain in four or five hoars, when they will be sufficiently processed. Then take ont your frnit, place it in jars and cover with the processed water.
All articles to be preserved mnst be sonnd and free &om blemish ; braised or broken skins wonld keep, bat be water-soaked. Only thick- Bkinned fraits and vegetables are to be nsed. Any water-tight vessel, covered safficiently to ezclade dast, may be nsed. Barrels are advised for greea com, and large-sized stone jars, holding several gallons, for tomatoes. Two or three laches of water most always be over aad above the frnit. Por ase, rinse off the salphared water and cook, or use as if frenh from garden. — Mrt. E. T. 6. in American Garden,
In his paper on Horticnitaral Education, Heory L. Glapp begins with " children's natural love for digging in the earth," but which is obliterated as they grow older, and hence the abandonment of forma. They leave the occupntion of producers, and seek that of middlemen or non-prodacers. The coantry at large is greatly overstocked with middlemen. He cites as an example the report from Wayne coaaty, N". y., where there are no less than foar hundred empty bouses. One named town has more than fifty deserted bouses, and another has thirty or more. The population here as elsewhere is slowly drifting into the- larger towns, and many are going West. Hortioultoral edacatiou is the proposed remedy — not merely the education of books, of which there are already too many pointing toward teaching pupils to be traders and making bargains. Some of the European countries, wltb all their disadvantages in other respects, have exceeded us in this. In France there were in 1867, 20,000 schools in which teachers and pupils foaad recreation and profit in garden and fruit coltare. There are now 28,000 of these schools. In Sweden, 22,000 children are instructed in horticulture and tree-planting. Germany appropriates annually for agriculture, $2,850,000 ; France, $8,000,000. Secretary Rusk hopes to get $1,359,000 from our government. — Prairie Faiiaer,
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MI8CBLLANEOT7S PAPBBB. 39&
GLASS 8TRU0TUKES DEFINED. One sabHcriber aska why a correspondeut ehoald have spoken of a " cold ^ greenhoase last monlh, when every one knows that a green- hoaee is for warmth. This shows that some confasioa prevails in the minds of the pnblio regarding the names of difFerent kinds of glass Btructnres. We take pleasure in throwing some light on the subject. A cold greenhouse is one in which no artificial heat is used, and answering in the Sontkern States, to winter many tender plants ; in the North the cold greenhonse may have indirect beat similar to the one described last month. A cold grapery is similar to a cold greenhouse. A greenhoase is anderstood to be a glass structure provided with means for artificial heating, to a temperature ranging from 45° to 65^ at night. A hot-house, or stove, is a strnctnre in which night heat of 60° and upward is uniformly provided in cold weather. Sometimes the stove is supposed to be distinct from tbe hot-honse, or signiiying the latter when heated nniformly at above 70° at night The warm grapery is analogous to the bot-honse. A conservatory is an adjunct to other glass honses, and into which plants, after they have reached a showy stage, are brought for display. It is a place where plants are shown rather than grown. The forcing house is a highly-heated strnc- tnre, often with the glass near the benches, and into which plants are brought temporarily for inducing their bloom. A retarding house is a kind of cold or cool greenhouse used for retarding plants. A cold pit is of the same class as the cold greenhonse, but is usually built into the ground and with glass only overhead. A cold frame is a shallow bed covered with sash, and unprovided with artificial beat. A hot-bed is similar to the last, bat is beated by means of fermenting manure, or sometimes by Que, water or steam pipes.
A TALK ABOUT HARDT GARDEN PLANTS. (J, W, Manning, Jr., before the Society of American Nurserymen.) We are by no means confined now to the plants of the old-foshioned gardens, many of which, though, are indispensable even now, but the- number of all hardy kinds well worthy of culture is au astonishing list.. This list includes some of the finest of foliage plants, which equat and even rival many tropical forms, while variety of form and color in the flowers is not rivaled perhaps except in Orchids.
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•396 STATE HOBTIOULDSAI. 800IBTTT.
Many beantifal forms are in onUiTation and fonnd hardy and de- sirable, wtaich are natives of the snowy Himalayas, the Siberian plains, while China and Japan oontribate long lists of beantifal novelties which are much songht for, which, together with the long list of desirable kiods firom all other temperate parts of the globe, contribate to make s flower garden a most beautifnl spot and a fascinaUng study.
There are some places where bedding plants can and probably will be need to advantage for some time, bnt the plants for the millions are uo longer these. They demand something that will require less care and expeoee in cultivating, that will be hardy, permanent and showy, and of sufficient variety in foliage and flower effect to suit all demands of soil, situation and individual desire.
The Qse of perennials is not confined to the flower garden alone, €or many valuable kinds are finely adapted and actually used in con- nection with shrubbery, both among the plants and about the edges, ■adding beanty that is at ouce appreciated by the pnblic Again, many beantiful plants are being used to beantity semi-wild situations, known as wild gardens, while parks, public gardens, etc., are now being largely planted with this stock, and the fkct that oor best landscape gardeners are using the plants in qaantity is of itself a sufficient guarantee of Iheir value.
A good sample of sach nse can be seen in Central park, while -other and more striking examples are to be seen in Newport, B. I., -where the use of these plants is becoming general.
We now have plants for beautifying rooky places, ledges and dry banks, flowers which will flower and thrive to perfection in partial to -deep shade ; bog plants for reclaiming spots hitherto considered detri- mental to any fine flower effects, while ponds, brooks and streams are the best sitnations for some beautifnl plants which cannot well be dis- pensed with when known.
The garden proper is enriched by an immense list of kinds pre- 'Senting greater variety of form, foliage and flower than ever before known. I have shown there is no dearth of material in this class of plants, and that they are already nsed to a considerable and increasing extent. The question as to whether all nurserymen should catalogue these plants is one that requires a oarefal answer.
To mention a list of the more commonly known and best kinds for general use, we would quote the following among the best: Achilleas •^in variety), Aconitums adonis, Yemalis, Alyssams, Anohnsa Italica, Anemones (in variety), Anthemis tinotoria, Anthericums (in variety), Aqnilegias (in variety), Arabis Alpina, Amerias (in variety). Asters of the dwarf kinds, Campanulas (in variety), of strong growth, Ceutanreas,
MISOKLLAHBOUS PAPARB. S9T
Clematis (io variety), Coreopais, especially lanceolata, Delphiniams or Larkepnrs, Dianthna (in variety), Dioeutra spectabilie and exima, Pent- BtemoDB (in variety), DiotamDiiB, ErigerODS (in variety), Fankias or Day Lilies, Gaillardias, Spireaa (in variety), Bilene Pennsylvanica, Bilene Tir- giaica, Violets (in variety). Yuccas, Geraninms or Oraoes Bills (in vari- iety), Oypsophila panicnlata, Heleninms, Helianthns, of the least weedy sorts, Hemerocalis (in variety). Hollyhocks, Iberis or Hardy Oandytnfts,. Iris (both Oemtan and Japanese), Liatris, Lilies of the thriftiest kinds, Lyclinis (in variety), Martensias, Monarda, Myosotis or For^t-me-nats,. (Eaotheras or Evening Primrose, Peonies (in variety), Papavers or Hardy Poppies (in variety), Pbloz (in variety), Platyeodona, PolemoninmB, Pyre- thrams, Badbeekiaa (the less weedy kinds), Sednms (of the shrabby sorts), Tradescantias, Trilliams, Veronicas (in variety). Tineas or Peri- winkles.— Ameriean FlorUt.
EXPERIENCE WITH SMALL FBUITS. Six years a^o I began growing strawberries, raspberries and black- berries in a small way. Have since Increased my plantation to acres. "Will give yon my experience with varieljes. The Crescent was my first love, and I have never folly al>andoiied it. Have tried it with Sharps less and Captain Jack and May King, and find it at home with any va- riety. The Jessie was my next hobby, having planted it quite largely. I find it a most deUoious berry, bat not as prolific as Crescent. The Babach surpaased anything on my place and sold readily in market at top prices. Having it properly fertilized with Jessie, Z shall never fear a dull market. Wartleld So. 2 — For beauty, earlinebs and firmness is the fruit-grower's friend. The earliest to ripen and the last to bear,. make it very desirable and profitable. Haverland — We have not fruited only on spriug-set plants. The berry was beautiful, and expect a fine crop next season. Qandy — Did not make as much growth as desired, but plants are looking fairly well. Winner and Eureka were planted late, and cannot expect many returns. If I were planting for profit I would plant Bnbach, Warfield No. 2, Haverland, Crescent, and fer- tilized with Jessie, and I do not think any one wonld be disappointed with a full crop of berries every year. — J. W. Oogdall, Sangamon Co., IlL
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STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL 800IKTT.
THE BEST WAY TO VENTILATE.
Eight persoiia out of ten will try to rid a room of its noxions gases by making an outlet for the air near the top of the ioclosed space. The result is that the room is cooled, bnt the imparities remain practically where they were. Th« reason is this : As the air of a room is heated it rises, bat the impare gases, being generally heavier than ordinary air, settle to the bottom of the room. A great amount of harm has been done, in school-rooms particnlarly, by lowering the upper Bashes in windows, thns cansing cold drafts npon the overheated heads of the papils. A room is best ventilated when the heavy and impare air is drawn gradaally away tvom the lowerpart of theroom throoghan open- ing into a chimney, the heated walls of which caase an upward cnrrenL An open fireplace is thns one of the best ventilators known. When this is not convenient, an opening^oovered by a grate shonid be made in the chimney near the fioor. Low rooms become freqnently ao over- . heated as to reqnirc an outlet neartbe top, bnt this should be used sim- ply to cool the room, not to ventilate it. In close baildings, oocapied by animals, ventilation can be secured by a close shaft six or more inches sqnare, according to the size of the room, extending &om within aboat twelve inches of the floor up through the roof of the building. The wind blowing across the top of this will cause an upward current, which will draw off the impure air.
Int«restiog experiments can be made by testing the effectiveness of various kinds of ventilation. Let the doors of a room be closed to beep out drafts; then with dplicate tissue paper cot in long strips and held by one end, or with a lighted caudle, note the outward current of air through an opening near the floor into a heated chimney, or ttom the room into an open fire. Note also the outward current of the up- per air when a window is lowered, and at the same time the downward rnsh of cold air to the floor near the window. If a sleeping room has been closed all night, as too many steeping rooms are, go out into the pure air for fifteen minutes, then go back into tbe closed room andnote the unpleasant change. The first seeds of disease are too often sown In unventilated bed-rooms. — Webb Donnell in Am, AgricuUurigt,
THE MISSION OP FLOWERS, It seems strange at first thought that young children and women and old people shoald care more for flowers tban do boys and middle- aged men, yet it is not strange. The spirit of flowers belongs to the 4salmer and tenderer virtues, and it is foreign to the restless boy who
HISGBLLinBOUS PAFBKS. 399
is fired with indefinite aepirations, and it is apt to find little room for lodgmeot in the mind of ambitions manhood. Bnt vhen the years begin to aofteu pasBiona and ambitions, the first love of the flowers begins to return, and it retarns the more completely the more tender And carefnl the disposition. Yonth and old age meet in many ways. It is a fond ideal of artists to picture the child npon the grandfather's knee or frisking by hie side through the calm and shady fields. I^ature speaks to both, to one in some unknown and strange emotion which inspires a wonder of what the great world is and what it means, to the other with the sweetness and nearness of a friend. Both love the flowers becaase they appeal to their sentiments and emotions. Life begins and ends at the same point, in purity, emotion and love. To women flowers always appeal, becaase in them the fundamental af- fections are leas obacnred by ambitions and sin. It is a hopeftil sign if some of the tenderness and sweetness of childhood remains in the man, if the flowers and nature still retain of their old-time fragrance and wonder. "It is character that counts, after all." — Ammean Garden.
THE DISCIPLINE OF DIFFICULTIES.
"I regard the yellows as one of the greatest blessings which ever fell to the lot of peach- growers. It has checked the recklessness and inflation which follow aniform eacceas." This bit of heresy was given us recently by a peach-grower of large experience and observation in the Chesapeake peiiinsnla. We had onrselves tanght that diseases and difficulties which can be readily overcome or can be checked witb- ont great aacriflce, are directly beneficial to any commanity , because tbey drive ont the shiftless and incompetent growers, and because they lessen production, and, therefore, aid in keeping prices within the limit of profit. Bat we had hesitated to make the same declaration in re- gard to sach s^rions and obscure diseases as pear blight and yellows, and we had never thought of the discipline of difficulties ia checking the recklessness of snccess. This, our informant assures us, has been true in many parts of the Chesapeake country. It is almoat an axiom that the most staid and honest people are found in regions where greatest effort is demanded.
It will be interesting to carry onr friend's remark to its logical conclusion. In the first place, difficulties, wherever we flnd them, are moral goads. The man who does not overcome them must tnm out of their way. Therefore, they drive ttom any business those men who are not staid and courageous enough to oppose and overcome them; they rid the business of an uncertain and therefore unstable element.
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400 STATE HORTIOULinBAI. SOGIETT.
Again, difficaltiea eogalf most Berloaely those vho are ignorant of the details of the bnaiaess or who lack perception and alertness. As a rale, other things being eqnal, the most competent men in any bnsi- , ness are thoee who have confined their attention to a comparatively small field. Difflcnltiea, therefore, tend to drive oat the general or old~ style farmer, and the greater the diffioolties the greater mast be the ezodas.
We cannot escape onr friend's conclnaions : the difflcalties of an; bneiness drive oat the incompetent and careless, and tend to make specialists. And the more serioas the difficulties, the more intense mnet be the specialization. General and mixed farming, in connection with fruit-groviDg, is constantly becomiDg less satisEactory.
Specialization is the salvation of onr agricnltnre, for whether we wish to throw the responsibility of present depressions npon politiciana or npon the moon, it is still true that the man who is most skillfal in » special line is bound to be the most successful. A prominent ednostor recently reaiarked to as : " The agricultural colleges are bouod to at- tract more attention from the farmers, for the difflcalties of farming are constantly becoming greater. The boys want help." — American Garden.
FIGHTING THE GROUND MOLE.
Wherever the common ground moles take possession of light soils, free ftom stone, they become a great nuisance, and do an im- mense amount of injury to lawns as well as small plants In the vegeta- ble and flower garden. If we scatter barnyard manure in drills or trenches made for the reception of peas, beans or other seeds, a mole is pretty certain to find it, and bnrrow under the entire row, lifting up or breaking off the roots of the yonng plants, causing their destruc- tion. If a forkful of manure is dropped in a hill for melons, a mole will soon show us that he knows it and how to work in a circle nntil every seed has been dried up, or plant destroyed, and if the mannre is- spread broadcast, then the moles travel in the same way, prodncing broadcast destruction.
It does not help us to be informed that the moles are only seeking their natural food, and have no desire or inclination to be mischievous - bat they are all the same, and the food they seek is generally the harm- less angle-worm and not the larvee of insects, as many writers have cltumed to shield the moles from total condemnation. If a mole wa» very hungry and there were no angle-worms to be had, he would no doabt make a meal of white grubs ; in fact, I have tested his taste for
MI80BLLANB0U8 PAPBBB. 101
different kinds of food and have foand tbat he preferred the angle- worms, and vonld root ap several square yards of lawn in seeking bis breaki^t.
Traps are generally recommended as a very satisfactory means of destroying'gronnd moles, and if well made and of the right pattern, and then properly set, the mole stands bat a poor chance of escaping a thrast from the steel points. Unfortnnately, my grounds are sqt- Tonnded by forms that seem to breed, moles as freely as they do the ox-eye daisy, and so I have tu defend myself against trespassing moles as well as against the Dataral increase of the home stock. It is now aboat twenty years since I first began to use the modern mole-traps, and I may say with fair success, for the nnmber of moles caaght every «ammer with them will average for the years named about twenty- five, or say five hundred in all, but this slaughter has not exterminated the pests, for we csnght and killed thirty-three during last Eeason. I have tried poisons of various kinds but with no apparent beneflcial re- sults, and even bi-salphide of carbon poured into their barrows only drives the moles to new grounds a few yards distant. The noxious inseots have never given me half the tiouble nor proved as great pests JD the garden as the ground moles, and while I shall probably con- tinue to use traps in order to keep the pests in check, I am aaxioasly
looking for some better and more rapid mode of extermination A. 8.
I'uller, Ifew Jersey, in American Agriculturist.
EDITOEIAL NOTES AND COMMENTS. It fruit-growing profitable t — This question bas been and is repeat- «dly asked many times, and always requires a conditional answer. The conditions are : 1, a suitable climate ; 2, a favorable soil ; 3, fertilizers adapted to the soil ; 4, varieties adapted to climate, soil and market ; 5, management suited to these conditions; 6, a combination of infin- ences which will give fine and handsome fruit and plenty of it. These reqnirements can be secured only by much attention and long-contin- ued experience. If mainly for market, a thorough knowledge of the best markets is necessary ; if for home use, a great variation in kinds may be made according to personal preferences and for daily use. But less knowledge and experience is required for raising fruit for home use than for market, for if any failure is made the loss is not formida- ble, and does not involve the loss in packing, selection, rail freight, express charges and commission.
H It— 26
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402 STATE HOETICULTUEAL BOOIBTT.
Planting pond UUet. — L. B. Bice describes in tbe GaDadiBii Hortl- onltnriat bis sacceesfol method of raising pood lilies (Nyn^kaa). A tnb, made by catting ao oil cask in two across tbe middle, has six inohes of cla; loam placed in tbe bottom, and on tbis tbree iDches of lighter mock or mod. In tbis set the HI; roots with the bads partly exposed. Sink tbe tub on the lawn vhere it will receive plenty of son- shine, tbe top a little below the sarfoce, the turf jnst covering tbe edge of the tub. It is then filled with water. A small' portion of dead leaves is thrown in. Before freezing it is covered with boards and straw.
Treea with tap-rootg. — " Orchard and Garden " publiebes Dr. Btay- man's acconnt of the results of removing tbe tap-root from apple treefe and tbeu setting tbem on flat stones, comparing tbe results with treetf retaining tbe lap-roots. An orchard was set ont near Uniontown, 111., with the tap-roots cut off and the trees set on flat stones, and another at tbe same time and place with the tap-roots remaining and not on stones. Forty years afterward the first mentioned were still bearing, and tbe last mentioned orchard was all gone. Other similar cases were named. Doubtless much would depend on the character of the soil, hard-pan and aur&ce, and in other places the result might be qn:te dif- ferent.
Wildjlowerg F. H. Horsford of Massachusetts gives to " Garden
and Forest" a statement of bis mode of collecting and transplanting wild flowers to bis garden. He takes the plants when in bloom, lifting them with plenty of earth on tbe roots, keeping tbem moist and shielded from the sun for a week or two. We have adopted a mode for many years which appears to be an improvement. The plants are noted when in bloom and allowed to stand until growth has ceased and the flower fallen, bat with tbe leaves still remaining to show where the plants are. A small stick or label is thrust into the ground at each plant, and if in tbe borders of woods the bark is shaved on the nearest small tree or sapling facing the locality. In the coarse of a few weeba the place is again visited with trowel and basket, and tbe roots secured without difiBculty. Less care is reqaired than when tbe plants are growing; they meet with no check by the removal, and are ready to bloom freely another year. Qaantities of flowering perennials are tbna easily and safely secured, from the earliest in spring, eucb as the Hepu- tica, THlliam, Erythronium, Sangninaria, Phlox, Aretbaea and others, and tbe later, native Lilies, Gyj)ripedinm9, Gentians. Calopogon, Fogo- nia and many more. Many of tbeee require to be grown in tbe shade as in their natural localities, and thus supply a want not often met in plants obtained &om narseries.
MISO&LLANIGOnS PAFBBS. 403
Rep^img borers and rabbitt, — A western oorrespondeDt of the ** Bnral World " describes a wash which will prevent moths and beetles from depositing their eggs in fruit trees, for exclnding apple borers and peach grabs : Slake f^esh lime with old soaprsads, making it as thick as eommon whitewash, and add haJf a gallon of ernde carbolic acid for each peck of lime, and foor poanda of salphor and a gatiou of soft soap. Wash with this mixture the trank and limbs with a flat brnsh, the first of June. To keep rabbits off, and to prevent sheep from girdling, wash late in autumn, oaing half s gallon of gas tai instead of the soft Boap. These washes are similar to those used by orchardists in former years, with some variation in ingredients. — Country Oentlo'
THE QBBATEST BATTLE FIELD. The bravest battle that ever was fought !
Shall I tell you where aod when? On the mapB of the world yon'll find It &ot ;
'Twftg foaght by tbe motben of men. Nay, not with oannon, or battle (hot,
With iword, or nobler pen ; Nay, not with eloquent word or thought,
From montha of wonderfOl men. But deep In a walled-up woman'! hearts—
Of woman that would not yield. But bravely, silently bore her part —
Lo I tberti'B that battle-field . No manh&ling troup, no blvoaacaong:
No banner to gleam and wave; But, oh! these battles, they lastao long —
From babyhood to tbe grave, ret, faithful Btlll as a bridge of stars,
She fights in her walled-up town — Fights on and on. In her endless wars.
Then silent, unseen—goes down.
0 ye with banners and battle shot. And soldiers to shout and praise ;
1 tell yoa the klngliest victories fought Are fought in these silent ways.
Oh, spotlesa woman In a world of shame ;
WItb splendid and silent Boorn ; Go back to Qod as white aa yon came :
Tbe klngliest warrior born.
JOAQDtN Mil.
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404 STATE HORTIOULTDEAL 800IBTY.
Dr. Schlicb'a statement of the destrnotive tendencies of private forest ownership in India might with eqnal trath have been made as a general proposition. It is the salient fact which the history of the forests of the earth seem to reach ; but nowhere have the proofs of its truth taken such giganic proportions as in the United States to-day. Even in Germany, where the state has done ita ntmost to snrronnd them with every possible s&fegnard, the wood-lands of private pro- prietors are steadily decreasing, both in area and in quality. A second great fact, which is of equal and immediate significance to ns in America, is that the conntries which have been Successful in forest preservation have been so along the lines of forest management. The first and most evident fnnction of the forest is to produce wood, and no scheme which leaves out of account the imperative and legitimate demand for forest produce is likely to meet with the support of a people as practical as our own. The forests which are most profitably used are the forests which are best preserved. These truths have never had the currency with as which their importance has deserved, and as a result we have been hastening along a road whose end is painfully apparent. We are surrounded by the calamitous results of the course that we are now pursuing. It fact, it seems as though there were almost no civilized or semi- civilized country in either hemisphere which cannot stand to us as an example or a warning. To this great truth they bear witness with united voice. The cure of the forests is the duly of the nation. — Oifford Finako in Garden and Forest.
OBNAMEHTAL HEDGE.
In answer to the inquirer who asks for a good or the beat shrub for an ornamental hedge on his grounds, we may name any species which has a thick natural growth, and is sufficiently hardy and vigorous to hold its ground. Among the best is the Japan quince, which in addi- tion to its stout growth possesses great beauty when in flower, but re- quires some care to keep it in shape. Unlike it and eqdally valuable is the purple barberry. For low growthare Deutzia gracilis and sweet- scented shrub. Taller shrubs may be employed if kept pruned within bounds, such as Philadelphus, Cornelian cherry, Tartarian honeysuckle, and others. Strength may be given to any of them by stretching one or more barb wires lengthwise through the center as they are grow- ing up.
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MISCELLANEOUS PAPEE8. 105
PEACHES IJr ST. LOUIS COUNTY. S«m« aflAa Old and Nea Varielia and Hote T/uy Did in SI. LouU County in I8S8-S9,
Editor Aural World — Tbe followiDg list of peaches I have &aited in St. Loaifi county. I have one orchard in bottom laad on the river ( Missiesippi ), another two miles from the river on upland, on or aboot twenty-five hundred in all — trees from seven to eighteen years old.
Amsden, Alexander, Gov. Garland, Arkansas Traveler, very mnch alike and are to peaches what Hartford Prolific is to grapes. I wonld not plant many of them, as they come in competition with finer ones from the South,
Early Beatrice, a good little peach, ftnlt too small.
Early Rivers, cracks and is sabject to moss blotches; does not sell well in St. Louis.
Hale's Early, bods very hardy, fruit perishable on tree and off.
Mountain Rose, very good.
Amelia — First-class peach, the first really good peach we hare.
Foster — This has been a disappointment to me and in this neigh- borhood. It mi^ do better East, where it came from. Will grub out sixty trees of it.
Large Early York — A sure old peach.
Crawford's Early — I have what seems to be two strains of this ; one I got from a Bloomington nursery, back in the seventies, is a first- rate peach for home market, rather tender for shipping. The otber strain I got &om another party is more tender in bud and don't color np as well.
Moore's Favorite, looks like Old Mixon, but larger.
Beeves* Favorite — This with me comes always fine, yellow free- stone, almost round ; I think it one of the best.
Old Mixon, free, variable with me, does best with me on poorish ground.
Susquehanna, very shy bearer, could do without it.
Crawford's Late, always fine when well grown.
Stnmp-the-World — This is also a variable peach with me — some years very fine, while other years on the same ground it is very indif- ferent
Ward's Late — This drops from the tree before ripe, seems to hold \t» fruit when grown in orchard grass.
Beers' Smock — This does not belong to the Smook family, as it is an upright grower, whereas the Smocks are drooping ; a good peach and a free bearer, profitable ; yellow, free.
406 STATE HOBTIOULTUBAL BOCIBTT.
9hiple;'8 Late — Red, fraited tbia two yeara, ooe of the beat, wbite fleab, a foncy peacb.
Kauticoke — Yellow freestone, a free bearer, rang even, upright grower. Thia is the most profitable peach I ever grew. I got six doUara a basbel box by the wagon load in St. Loaia in 1S89 ; got bads of thia peach sent to me by a party in South Kanaaa eighteen yeara ago. It was labeled a cling, bnt la a decided freeaton«.
Brandy wine — Fraited thia in 1889; looks like Crawford's Late, but ie not as roand, and teii days later. Very large, yellow freestone, a fbuey peach.
Christiana is also a fine, yellow freestone, ronnd ; sella well in St. Loals.
Freeman's Late is an improved Smock, later than the Smock by a week, and larger and better colored than Smock. Very profitable.
Picqnet'a Late — Another fine one.
Heath Cling — I have seen lots of what paased for Heath Cling, bat the trae Heath, when well grown, won't go begging for a par- chaaer.
Gold Dast — I got thia from Judge Miller, a yellow cling, very large and firm, quality not so very good, a good one for pickling, for which there eeeme to be qnite a demand.
LaGrange, always fine with me.
Bed Cheek Melocoton — Seta too much fruit; baa to be thinned to have the fruit large enough to be salable and the color, ia not bright enough. ■ Moore's White, small, dull white ; unattractive ; diacarded it.
I have a good many more of the newer kinds that I did not fruit long enough to pronounce on.
A. Latbllb.
January 2, 189L
ROSE NOTES. Autumn Blooming Varieties. — No variety surpasses the old Souve- nir de Malmaison as an autumn bloomer. In many of the Northern States, where our winters are a constant succession of hard freezing and com- plete thawing, this and many other oatrdoor roaes are so crippled by the sudden changes as to have little chance to show us their beet poiata. Tbey may often be acen in really fine form in localities of extreme cold, bnt this is where they are not subject to these trying thaws ; in both situations, however, a judicious winter protection, which allows a good circulation of ait about the plant, will usually be found of great benefit.
MIB0BLLANB0U8 PAPBBS. 407
Iq tfae milder climate of Eagland and io-tbe more &Tored areas of onr own country, especially in the Ohio valley and aonthward, the MalmaiaoD, with Sombrenil for a lovely companion, are beautiful beyond description. Gave Hill cemetery, at Loaisvitle, is a garden of roses, and it is seldom seen to greater advantage than when these tvo varie- ties, with Hermosa for a modest third, are in the full fiosh of their autumn bloom. Not a stray rose here and there, but roses in the great- est proftision aad on every aide.
Of the hybrid Teas, La France is ofteo noticeably beantifbl In the antnmn, but this entire section of the rose family, notwithstanding that it contains some of our most delightful varieties, ia rendered almost unfit for out^door planting in the Korth, owing to its susceptibility to the ravages of that dreaded disease, black spot. I cannot refrain from calling attention to a near and lovely relation of La France, the Vis- countesa Folkestone. One of the late Mr. Bennett's pedigree seed- lings, it is not surpassed in heauty by any rose extant. There are many locations through our Middle States where it winters finely, and seems a rose abaolotely without fault. The flower is of grand aize and the most finished form; the texture is like satin; the color is white, shading to a soft flesh tint at the base of the petals, giving it a bright illnmined appearance. — E. 0. Hill in QarAen and Fore«t.
Bichmond, Ind.
The following summary is taken from the Ohio Station bulletin :
(1.) To meet tb« waota of strawberrj growers, a vartet^ ought to have euffl- eleot he&llh and vigor to adapt Itseir to widely varying ooDditlona aod to poiietB one or more marked cbaract«rlsllcs. It IB not wortb wbUe to seek to find varieties that are adapted to particular aolls, einoe varieties that have a limited range are g^eneralty fouod to bo variable and unt mat worthy. The most valuable varieties are the least variable, and ar^ easily salted as to sol] aod climate.
(2.) The foIlowlDg v&rletles have been tboroogbly tested and are salted to the waats of those who grow berries for market : Bubacb, Eureka, Haverland, Cres- cent, WarfieEd.
(3.) Where large berries are desired rather tban qnaotlty. the following can be recommeaded for home BSe or for market: Camberland, Crawford, Gaudy, J^aise, Llda, Miami, Pearl.
(4.) The Dew varieties tbat seem to be the most promising, are : Eohaace, Farasworth, Ivaohoe, Uiddleaeld, Muskingum, Michel's Early, Parker Early, Sbaster's Gem, Waldron.
(5.) Those that have good points, but are doubtful and need further testing, are: Clond, Lady Kusk, Htayman's No. 1, Daisy,
(6.) The following will no doubt be dropped sooii : Hoffman, Jessie, Logan, Pineapple.
(7.) The molt productive varletlesare those that have a long season : i. e.,glTe a comparatively large number of pickings.
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408 STATE HORTIOTJLTURAL 800IBTT.
(8.) VcTj early and extremely late varletleB are leas fruitfol tban tbe medlniD earif.
(9.) Perfect-flowered, aa a rule, are tela prodnotlve than the pUtlllate or im- perfect-flowered varieties.
THE QUEEN OF FLOWERS-.
BY JOHN ». MIY.
Bead before th« UaaeacbuBette Horticultural Society, Janaary 24, 1891.
HaTiDg beea requested hy yonr hooorable committee to read » paper on tbie subject, I have in tbe following endeavored to say enoagh at any rate to open a discusaion whereby yonr eseayist truBts to learn more than he can ever hope to teach by anything that can be said. A.ft this Babjeot has been so well and ably presented to this body so many times before, by men mach better informed and more able to present it to you intelligently than myself, I feel that I am almost an interloper here, and wonld certainly much rather be a listener than a talker on this subject; however, I will give my experience with tbe rose, and trust you will be lenient with yonr criticisms.
This, tbe queen of all flowers, has always reigned supreme for me^ and will till the end of time. My first experience with tbe rose dates ftom the time I was about 8i years old, when I borrowed [without per- Diiasion) three eyes of Souvenir de la Malmaison, then a new rose. I am sorry to have to confess it at this late day, bnt a clear confession is good for the soal, so it is said, anyway. Having watched an elder brother doing considerable badding, and wisblng to try my tiand at it, I bor- rowed, as above stated, three eyes from my father's garden and took tbem to a neighboring hedge, where I found a wild rose on which I budded tbem, one of which grew and the next season produced three fine flowers; and from that day on the rose (and this variety in particu- lar) has always held a charm for me.
During all these yeais I have seen Ihany, very many changes ia them, though some of the varieties that were then in their glory are not yet eclipsed and still retain their places in the front rank. Among many I may mention O-eneral Jacqueminot, Giant des Battiulles, and many others too numerous to mention here. Among the tea roses, Niphetos, Lamarqne, Glorie de Dijon and others still rank as first fovorit«B; the same may be said of all the other branches of this family. But no one can gainsay tjiat there are not many great improvements in the family, introduced within the last ten or twenty years ; take, for instance, the magnificent Ulrich Brnnner, Mrs. John Laing, Earl of DufFerin, T, W. Oirdlestone, and many others of the same family. Among the teas, the most graceful of all, combining as it does elegance of form, beautiful
MISOEIiLANEOUS PAPEB8. 409
color and &agraQoe, stftnds pie-eminently Catberioe Mermet, and her offapriog the Bride, which to-day is reoogDized all over the civilized vorld as the finest white tea rose in cnltivatioii; and of thiB year's in- trodactioo, the gloiioas Wabao, now before yoa, and its mother and Bister, grown and piodaced at the celebrated Waban conservatories here in yoor own State, which clearly demonstrates the fact that the cultiva- tion of the rose has wonderfully advanced within the last decade.
It may not be oat of place at this time to give a few remarks on the cnltivation of the rose here. Twenty years ago the principd roses grown for onr markets were Bon Silene, Safrano, Lamarqae and a few others of like character. The only roses of any size then grown were Marecbal Kiel and Cornelia Cook ; to-day they are almost entirely supplanted by mach Baperior varieties, such as yon now Bee before you, and many others of a like size and beauty. To attain thiB end, conBidenble skill has been brought to bear on their cultivation. Twenty years ago p.OB- sibly five tlionsand roses per day was the limit of the supply for New York city ; now as many as fifty thousand roBCB per day can often be foond there, and according to my own estimate, based on the most care- ful calcalation, I think I am qnite within the limit to say that often it reaches in the spring of the year to nearly one hundred thonsand per day, which Bpeaks volumes in itself for the growth, advancement, refine- ment in taste and development of horticulture. To meet the demands of the public, many changes in the caltiTatlon have been brought about ; where with the old system one rose was cut, ten at the present time are cut from the same space. PerhapB you will ask how this haB been brought abont ; my answer is, largely by superior cultivation. Formerly they were all grown in the solid bed of the green-house, now they are grown on raised benches, beds, etc., and with the greatly improved style of green-hoaseB now at the command of the grower, they are enabled to prodnce large quantities with comparatively little expense to what they formerly did.
When I began cultivating roses under this system, many growers predicted &ilure ; to-day ninety per cent of the dorists in this country are growing their roseB on that principle, with of course some modifi> cations which experience has taught. It was formerly the practice to plant a bouse of tea roses, grow them on for years till they actually died trom overwork : now thegeneralpracticeistoreplantfiQe,healthy, new stock every year, or at most, every two years ; originally the pre- vailing idea was that the roses must have a deep rich border ranging from 12 to 24 inches deep to produce good roscB; now the finest roses in the country are produced on benches, etc., with from 2} to 1 inches of soil.
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410 STATE HORTIOULTDRAL fiOOIETT.
To keep plants iu eaob a shallow bench coDstaatly bearing, they moBti, of coarse, have liberal treatment ; after they are planted, Bay in Jnly, and get fi^rly started into growth, they need a mnlching of the best mannre they can have. This induces sur&ce root action, which roots shonld never be distnrbed, and in the conrse of eight or ten weeks the plants will have absorbed the above coat of mnlching. Oar prac- tice is to then f^ve a light dressing of pore fine ground bone, covering the same with another thin coat of manore ; this is feeding the plants where it will do the most good and at the same time keep up their roots where they get all the benefit of the fresh air circnlating through the house. This process is repeated as often as reqaired, and where the plants are growing very strong, carefal application of other stimalants, such as liquid manure, nitrate of soda, etc., is of great benefit to them, providing, of course, dne care is used in its application. To apply such strong stimulants injudiciously simply means ruin, not only to the flowers bat tbe plants also. I do not hesitate to say that more plants have been killed by over-feeding than all other causes pat together. One thing should always be borne in mind in reference to plant life, and that is that they are almost identical to animal life so far as their requirements go. To maintain a plant in health and vigor, it requires careful and judicious feeding, jast as an animal does, and the harder it works the more care it requires. Those who treat their plants or ani- mals otherwise than reasonably, will pay dear for their pains and reap tbe harvest for which they have sown.
Possibly some may doubt ttie soundness of snch a doctrine and say, as many have done to me, "How can yon reconcile this statement with oar practice of growing roses in the open ground, where we nse immense quantities of manure, and tbe more we use the better onr roses grow and bloom T" Very true, they do, bat the conditions are so totally different that there can be no comparison whatever. In the open ground the actiou of the tur, the wonderful power of absorption of the soil of unlimited depth, dews by night, rains and sun by day, all tend to produce such a vast difference to the conditions of a green-hoase, where every drop of water or particle of manure has to be broaght into direct contact with the roots of the plants, that it would seem almost an absurdity to make any comparison whatever.
For the snccessfal cultivation of the rose under glass there are a few simple rules to follow: First, to procure a suitable soil, whioh should be, if possible, fresh sod from an old pasture ; that having plenty of grass-root fibre in it is generally tbe best If very heavy, the addi- tion of a liberal proportion of sharp sand will improve it, but if of very light sandy nature, the addition of some of a clay nature will for most
UISCBILLANBOUS Fl.FEKe. 411
roses be beoeflcitil. When cartiog together in the spring, mix with it one part good clean cow manure to six, eight or ten of soil, according to quality of the soil. Tnm it over two or three times and It is raad^ to put into the rose-hoaee.
The next is good, strong, clean and beallhy plants, for without ench no one need expect the best results; and the afixt ifi to keep the bouse, after the tobbs are planted, in a good condition as long as they are in it, which means all the year ronnd. This is more important than many suppose, as no plant can reasonably be expected to thrive where dirt, mnd and decaying vegetable matter are allowed to lie unmolested for weeks or months together.
And, lastly, the watering and general care of the plants. On the subject of watering there is a wide diversity of opinion, mainly brought about by the different conditions of soil. The only safe guide is a care- ful study of the nature of the soil one has to deal with, and use water in proportion to its reqairements. As a general rule, a rose in fall growth should never be allowed to become dust dry, neither should it be flooded with water till it becomes almost the nature of mad ; bat for nearly all soils it is better to water the plants immediately the soil shows the least indication of getting solid or taming slightly light in color.
For the general care and management I am afraid I should tire yon all if I even attempted to describe it in detail, but even if I did not do that I think it entirely annecessary here, as much so as it would be for a stranger to go to Kome and tell the Romans what to do ; bat, in con- elusion permit me to say, that although I think and honestly believe that in the past twenty years greater strides have been made in the cul- tivation of the rose than was ever done in donble that time during pre- vious years, yet I as earnestly think mnch greater advancement will be made in the next ten years than has been done in the past twenty. Evidence of this is very clear to any one visiting the different parts of this conntry, and I trust after we have all passed away the "Queen of Flowers" will still have as great a charm for onr snecessors as it has for us. Long may she reign supreme, and this hospitable city remain the seat of her throne, to which pilgrims will ever come ftom all over this broad land to do homage to her mujesty in all her golden glory. — American Florist.
THE GREAT NEW YORK FLOWER SHOW. The Pitcher and Manda Flower and Plant exhibition in Madison Sqnare garden during Thanksgiving week was a noteworthy event in the floricnltural world. The enterprise and pluck evinced by this firm,
412 STATE HOBTIGULTnBAL SOCIBTT.
in andertahing single-banded to famish a flover show of rare excel- lence and gigantic dimensions, is deserving the highest praise and merited saccess. It is safe to assert that never before hns so magnifi- cent and valnable a display of flovers and plants been broagbt together from a single establishment. <
The arena of the "garden," which comprises the entire eqnare boanded b; Madison and Fonrth avennes and Twent;-sixth and Twenty- serenth streets, where only a week before the great horse show was held, was transformed into a charming garden with broad, cnrved ave- nues and narrower walks, bordered at the edges by growing moss, and back of these were rows of small ferns. Large beds were filled witb chrysantbemnms, roses, orchids and other plants in great variety, and all in fall bloom. Gracefol palms and Anstralian tree ferns with the corioQB anfern-like Platyeerium grande, or the Grand Elk's-Horn fern,, of iN'orth Australia, standing oat from their trnnks, were interspersed with grand effect between other shrubs and trees in varions plots and thickets. Then, in the center of this Inzariant garden, redolent with fragrant flowers, stood two pavilions, one entitled " Home Weddiog^ Decorations," and the other entitled "The Wedding Breakfast." These two proved to be especially attractive features to tlie yonng people.. The first pavilion was fitted np as a parlor; at the upper end stood the reading desk, or altar, for the clergyman, the chairs and lonnges being- comfortably arranged around the room. The mantel-piece at the right was decked in a wealth of roses and other flowers, with safBcient foliage behind to bring out their delicate tints ; at the left, near the coiner, airy ferns and slender palms grouped together completed the simple but charming decoration. The second pavilion was fitted ap a» a dining room. The large round table had a bank of pink roses in the center, while all around were arranged the glittering silverware and cat- glass decanters, goblets and bowls, in striking contrast with the cheer* fnl, yet quiet and subdued appearance of the first pavilion.
Passing these attractions, the largest palm in the garden wa» reached — a Chinese Fan palm, one hundred years old. Around its base were grouped smaller palms and other plauts, as well as the inter- esting Monstera deliciosa, with its large, graceful perforated leaves and creeping stems. Near by pine-apples were growing, some of them almost ripe enough to cut, and a solitary banana just behind hung its drooping fruit in plaintive loneliness. Fine specimens of various spe- cies of cactus were on exhibition also, and a brilliant lot of scarlet- spathed Antfaurinme were to be seen not far from the entrance. The array of orchids, especially Cypripediams, was large and interesting. Many valuable specimens were on exhibition. One new Oypripedinm^
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« hybrid of C. matervXianvm, labeled ae a $1,000 plant, excited consid- «rable comment. The flower was nearly four IncIieB in diameter; the apper petal white, with rich lined and dotted strise of brown madder, and the sac below waB ^een, tinged rather strongly at its sides with brown madder also.
When it is considered that all these plants had to be brought in wagons i^om the United States narseries, Short Hills, N*. J., a distance -of twenty miles, and had to be secorely protected against frost on the way, one can partly imagine the difflcnlty and immensity of the under- taking. We are glad to learn that the admission fees have been sofB- cient to pay for all expenses, which have been considerably over 42,000. The unstinted expenditure of money has, of coarse, famished the basis of the undertaking, but its principal success Vas mainly dae to the inde&tigable and well directed efforts of Mr. W. A. Mand^ and Mr. John Thorpe. — American AgricuUvrist.
Pbesidsnt Dwight: "The knowledge of botany gives a joy which should be in the possession of every educated man, and sboald be jiained, as it easily can be, in the early yoathfbl season. Science «verywhere brings us into a close relation with nature."
Wanted — Five hondred thousand American artisans, mechanics, business men and their wives and children to understand that the pleasures of gardening, unlike many other pleasures, are of a lasting nature, as well as fall of intellectnal enjoyment. Plant a tree and yon plant for the ages. The economic and health-giving side of raising and using fruit and vegetable prodaots freely as food, also must not be overlooked.
HARDY ORNAMENTAL TREES. At the fourth annual meeting of the American Cemetery association Mr. O. C. Simonds, of G-raceland cemetery, gave a list of a few very desirable trees to plant, etc. Speaking for a climate like the West and Northwest, he gives first on the list as the American elm, with a good word for the English elm and varieties. He has a good word for the Silver or White maple when properly handled.
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The Norway maple is perfectly hardy. The Tartarian maple does fairly well. The Sycamore maple Ib not always bardy. The yegaado or Aah-leaf maple is good for its distinct foliage. The Bed maple sel- dom exhibite the fine autumnal tinta it does East. The oaka he has a good word for. If dignity alone was sought for, the Burr oak would head the list. The White oak is a grand tree. The objection that the oaks often cause trouble f^om falling leaves in the winter, lie s^s is compensated for " by the little tofts of pink and white leaves that come out in May, worth many times the cost of raking uq the dead leaves." The Burr, White, Swamp White, Bed, Black and Pin oaks are found in the immediate vicinity of Chicago, and are of course perfectly hardy. The Scarlet oak was Dr. Warder's favorite tree, and was planted by him for his own monument. The English oak does &irly well. The Black, White and Green ash trees he has a good word for. The Linden is a common native and one of our best trees. Even the Cottonwood is not to be despised in certain quarters. Our native &.epen he likes to see trembling in a thicket of shrubs and low trees. The Lombardy, he says, is not bardy, which is not the fact.
The Laurel-leaved willow, with its dark, glossy foliage, is an excel- lent tree. The Wisconsin weeper is a good tree to plant on the borders of lakes. The Golden willow is usefal for its color in winter.
Among other native trees that shoald receive more attention than has been given them is the Hackberry, a tree that attains good size. The Jnneberry is the moat attractive of all trees early in the spring. The Blue beech, an ironwood, is beautiful in foliage and fruit; the Pepperidge is the most brilliant of our trees in autumn ; and the Sas- safras, with its green bark and rich-colored leaves, is much admired.
The Sycamore and the uative Beeches do not thrive well. The Talip tree, the Catalpa, the Honey locust, the Magnolia acuminata, and the Coffee tree are mostly bardy and desirable. The Backeye, the Chestnut and Bed-bud grow with na, but sometimes the edges of the leaves torn brown and look unhappy.
Of the foreign trees, besides those mentioned, the Horse chestnut, the AilanthuB and the Panlownm are effective but not always hardy. The European Cut birch is good. Young's Weeping birch is excellent. The European Alder does well in low ground. The Salisburia or Ghinko is good on account of its interesting foliage.
Mr. S. is an enthusiast in both tree and shrab-growing, and haa good examples of what he writes about — Prairie Farmer,
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UIBOBLLANBOUS PA.PKR6.
PEEFECT AND IMPEEFEOT FLOWERED VARIETIES COM- PARED. A list, comprising eight each of the leading perfect and imperfect flowered varieties of stiawberries, was sent to several prominent straw- berry-growers, leqnesting them to mark the different Tarieties as to prodnctiveness, on a scale of 0 to 10. The averages agree very olosel; with the grades given at the station before the lists were sent ont. Be- low are the averages for each variety and for the two classes : PerfeoC flowered rarletiea (aTerige)—
Sharplesa 4.1
UntnbeTlKod S.4
WilKin 6.6
Sucker State 6.0
Jewie 4.5
Pewl.... 7.6
G«ndy- 4.8
C«pt. Jmok 7.6
Avenge of perftot flowered vurletle* 3.8
Imperfect flowered vertetlea (avemge)—
Crescent B.a
Haverlind 9.8
Bubacfa 8.3
WarfleW ».0
Ohio 6.0
Champion , 7.0
Enreka. 8.0
Manchester 7.8
Average at Idoperreot flowered varieties 8.0
It will be nnderstood that these grades are not based apon aclnal yields, bat are simply carefal estimates ; yet it is not improbable that they represent the Btanding of the varieties quite closely. One thing is clear : i. e,, the most prolific varieties are fonnd among those having imperfect flowers. Nearly all of those named in this class are very prolific, the Ohio being the only exception. Among those having per- fect flowers none are foond that are extremely prolific, the Wilson and Capt. Jack being possible exceptions under favorable conditions. Tak- ing averages for the two classes, we find that the varieties having im> perfect flowers stand thirty-eight per cent higher than those having perfect flowers. If we take fonr of the most prolific in each class, the imperfect flowered sorts stand thirty percent higher than those having perfect flowers.
There can be no donbt that the production of pollen is an exhaus- tive process, hence the varieties having perfect flowers are at a disad-
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vantage. So donbt some of the perfect flowered sort« are very nearly «qttBl to any in ftaitfnlness, and auder certain circamstances may be fnlly eqaal, bat the chances are againat them when anCavorable condi- tiona occur. Given two varieties of eqaal'^igor and prodoctiveuees, one having perfect the other imperfect flowers, the extra tax of pollen bearing on one will so weaken the plants as to render them more sab- jeot to the evil effects of fangi, inaeots, dry weather, frost, ete^ than those that prodnce no pollen. — Ohio Bxp. Bulletin, Vol. S, No. 7.
THE WINTEB VOID.
Aclve farming extends through scarcely more than half the year in the Northern States. With winter comes comparative inactivity, and the cultivator draws apon the results of the sammer for his support. The farmer shonld be one of the best read of men, with so mnch time at his disposal as the long winter season brings.
It is a wonder that forming returns even a livelihood when one half of it is a consumption of the other half. It is only a good busi- ness which can be followed even with a scant proflt with so long an intermission each year. The closeness and depression of the times must tend to flU up this wasteful void of winter. The former must ex- tend his energies over the whole year, and he has ample opportunity to •do so in the management of his stock. The horticulturist especially, who is supposed to pursue intenser methods, should contrive to carry hia bnsiuess throughout the twelvemonth. Winter shonld mean only a change of occupation, a shifting of methods and energies. The chang ing seasons are inspirations to tbe thoughtful cultivator. They relieve the monotony, and should train to more complete and skillful methods. At present, tbe cultivator bends his energies to the utmost to provide for tbe winter, while the winter shonld provide for itself. The ideal forming is one which brings in a more or less contiunons retnrn the year round, rather than tbe whole of it in oue month.
Horticultural industries often allow the growing of crops that ma- tare at nearly all seasons, A-om asparagus in April to celery in Kovem- ber, and many of these crops are eminently adapted to farm conditions. Asparagus, for instance, is a farm crop in some regions, and it requires less labor than wheat, with much surer profits. The most promising secondary field for horticulturists in easy reach of good markets is tbe forcing of plants nnder glass. Certain crops are easily and cheaply grown, and with good management the profits are nearly always sat* isfoct«ry. This vegetable gardening under glass is sure to increase In
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MISCELLAKB008 PAPERS. 417
extent and importance every year. Bat it demanda a certain alert- neBaand palnataking which are not common among horticnltnTistB. It reqairea a good training, and the diffiealties of it become greater each year, as new competitions, new conditiona and new enemiea arise. Sach indaatriea are the ones that pay.
Bat we caonot advise particnlar methods or occupations in a gen- eral discossion. We only wiah to impress the &ot apon thnse who live by tilling the soil that a baainees cannot long remain profitable which ia followed bat fonr or five months oat of twelve. Beform yoar rota- tions, combine stock or ponltry with yoar baaiaeaa, or in aome way con- trive to make the winter months pay for themselvea at leaet — American Garden
NOTES TJPOH METHODS OF HERBACEOUS GRAFTING.
My attention baa been called a nnmlier of times to the nnsatiafac- tory reoorda and directiona concerning the grafting of herbaceous plants. There appears to have been very little attention given to the sabject, and the scant discnaaions of it are mostly copied from one an- tbor to another, A fewyearsago Imadesomeattempts at herbaceoaa grafting, bnt It waa not nntil laet winter that experiments were serioaaly undertaken. The work was pat in the bands of J. B. Lochary as a subject for a gradaating thesis.
The experiments were undertaken primarily for the purpose of learning the beat methods of grafting berba, but s secondary and more important object was the study of the reciprocal inflaeocea of stock and cioQ, partionlarly in relation to variegation and coloration. This second feataie of the work ia still under way, in one form or another, and we hope for definite reaolta in a few years. Aa a matter of imme- diate advantage, however, herbaceous grafting has its naea, particularly in securing different kinds of foliage and flowers upon the same plant. There is no difficulty in growing a half dozen kinds or colors, on gera- uiums, cfaryaaQthemums or other plants, from one stock of the respec- tive species.
Six hundred grafts were made in oar (rials last winter. It waa found that the wood must be somewhat hardened to secure best reaolta. The very aoft and fiabby shoots are likely to be injured in the operation of grafting, and union does not take place readily. Vigorous coleus stocks three months old gave beat results if cat to within two or three inches of the pot, and all or nearly all the leaves removed from the stamp. Geraniuma, being harder in wood, made good nnions at almost H a— 27
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418 STATU HOBTICDLTDEAX 80CIBTT.
any place except on the soft sfrowing points. The stock mnst not have ceased growth, however. Most of the leaves should be kept down on the stock. Cions an inch or two long were nsoally taken from firm growing tips, in essentially the same manner as in the making of cat- tings. Sometimes an eye of the old wood was ased, and in meet cases nnion took place and a new shoot arose ft'om the bad. The leaves were neually partly removed f^m the cion.
Varioaa styles of grafting were employed, of which the common cleft and the veneer or side graft were perhaps the most satisfactory. In most instances it was only necesBary to bind the parts together snngly with bass or rsfBa. In some eofb-wooded plants, like colens, a covering of common grafting wax over the bandage was an advsn- tage, probably because it prevented the drying oat of the parts. In some cases, however, wax injured the tissues where it overreached the bandage. Sphagnum moss was used in many eases, tied in a small mass about the anion, bat unless the parts were well bandaged the cion sent roots into the moss and did not unite; and in no case did moss appear to possess decided advantages. Best results were obtained by placidg the plants at once in a propagating fhime, where a damp and confined atmosphere could be maiutained. In some plants, suceessfiil unions were made in the open greeo-hoase, bat they were placed in shade and kept sprinkled for a day after the grafts were made. The operation should always be performed quickly to prevent flaggicg of tbe cions. Or, if the cions cannot be used at once, they may be thrust into sand or moss in the same manner as cuttings, and kept for several days. In one series, tomato and potato cuttings, which had flagged in the catting bed, revived when grafted. And cuttings which had been transported in the mail for three days grew readily, but they were in good condition when received. The mealy bags were particnlarly troublesome upon these grafted plants, for tbey delighted to crawl nnder the bandages and sack the juices ^om the wounded sur&ces.
Although it is foreign to the purpose of this note, it may be worth while to mention a few of the plants upon which the experiments were made. Sections were taken of many of the grafts, and microscopic examinations made to determine tbe extent of cell union. Coleases of many kinds were used, with aniform success, and tbe cions of some of them were vigorous a year after being set. Even iresine (better known as Aehyrantkei TerichaffeltiiJ anited with coleus and grew for a time. Zonale geraniums bloomed upon the common rose geranium. Tomatoes upon potatoes and potatoes upon tomatoes grew well and were trans- planted to the open ground, where some of them grew, flowered and fi'uited until killed by i^ost. Tbe tomato-on-potato plants bore good
MISOBLLAHBOUS PAPERS. 419
tomatoes above aud good potatoes beneath, even thoagb no Hpronts from the potato stock vere allowed to grow. Peppers anlted with tomatoes and tomatoes anited with peppers. Egg plaDts, tomatoes and peppers grew npon the European husk tomato or alkekeugi {FAyaalU AlkekmglJ, Peppers and egg plants anited with each other reciprocally. A colens cion was placed npon a tomato plant, and was «imply bonnd with raffia. The cion remained green and healthy, and at the end of forty-eight days the bandage was removed, bnt it was fonnd that no nuion bad taken place. Ageratnms united npon each other with difficulty. Ghrysauthemams united readily. A bean plant, bearing two partially grown beans, chanced to grow in a chrysau- tbemnm pot. The stem bearing the pods was inarched into the chrys- Authemnm. Union took place readily, but the beans turned yellow and died. Pumpkin vines united with squash vines, cucumbers with -cucumbers, mnskmelous with watermelons, and musbmelons, water- melons and cncnmbers with the wild cncnmber or balsam apple fEcM- Moeystis lobataj.
Another interesting feature of the work was the grafting of one trait npon another, as a tomato fi^it npon a tomato fruit, or a encumber apon another cucumber. This work is still under progress, and it promises some interesting results in a new and unexpected direction, reports of which may be expected later. — Bulletin Oornell Exper^ent iStatioH.
THE PEACH YELLOWS. The yellows of the peach is spreading in Western N'ew York, and it is becoming a very serious menace to peach culture. Investigations into the natnre of this disease have been carried on for the last three ■or four years by the Department of Agriculture at Washington. Little has been said concerning these investigations, and people are not aware of the extent to which tbey have been carried. In order to learn something of their scope, I visited the Chesapeake peninsula in October and examined the field experiments under progress. Dr. E, F. Smith is the special agent of the Department of Agricnlture who is investi- gating the disease. In this region he has eighty acres of orchard under direct experiment, forty of which, scattered throagh twelve or- •chards in Delaware and Maryland, are devoted to fertilizer tests. These fertilizer tests are above a hundred in nnmber, and comprise treatment with nitrogen, potash and phosphorus, and many combina- tions of them. He has tried all the fertilizer remedies which liave been recommended for the care of the disease and for its prevention.
420 8TATB HOBTIOULTUBAL BOOIETY.
These bsve been tried upon all kinds of soils, and upon trees of alf t^es. They have been used with exceeding care, and they comprise the largest Beld experiments of this oatare, upon diseases of plants, yet made in this country. It is evident apon examining these orchards that there is no fertilizer or combination of fertilizers which will either care or prevent the yellows. Many of the fertilizers, especially those rich in nitrogen, have a wonderfal effect apon the vigor of the tree, bnt they do not prevent the yellows, uor cure it. All the investigationa so fftr made go to show that yellows is a specific disease, entirely inde- pendent of soil or sarroandings.
Many investigations in other directions have been made, and many- important facts have been obtained concerning the nature of the dis- ease, bat so far its caose has not been determined. The disease is an exceedingly obsonre one, mnch more so than pear blight or any other disease with which we are familiar.
The Kew Jersey, Delaware and Maryland orchards are beiDg- rapidly decimated with the yellows; in fact, thenpper portion of DeW ware is practically devastated of peach trees, and the apper part of the Ohesapeahe peninsula in Maryland is no longer a profitable peacb region. There are acres upon acres of orchard in which more than every other tree is visibly diseased, and in large areas it is almost im- possible to find a single healthy tree. There has been veiy little united attempt toward controlling the yellows in these regions, and for that reason this present destraotion threatens the indnstry. It is asefol to compare the resnits in this region with those of the Michigan peach region, where a definite law was early enacted, and which has been en* forced vigorously. In Michigan the yellows is on the decrease and the planting of orchards is on the increase. In Maryland and Delaware^ the yellows is rapidly on the increase and orcharding is mostly on the decrease. The only remedy so far known is eradication of the tree as- soon as the disease is seen. The disease is constitatiooal, and even when we have fonnd the caase it will probably remain inonrable. Tet there is no reason for undue alarm in the matter, becaase the ex- perience of the Michigan growers has proved conclasively that radic^ measures will keep the disease in check or almost eliminate it from any coantry. The New York law is essentially the same as the Michigao law, and if it is rigidly enforced by healthy public sentiment, there ia no reason why peach culture should not fioarish. Otherwise, sooner or later oar peach industry must perish, — BuUetin Oomell Experimettt Station.
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MISOBLLANBOITS PAPBB8.
EXPBRIBNOB IN CROSSING CUCURBITS.
The limits and resnltB of crossing among cncurbitaceoas plants — pampkins, sqnastaes, melons, canambers — are little understood. The •oommoD notions aie exceediuglj vague. It is nearly everywhere sap- posed that all the species intermingle indiscriminately, and any state- ment to the contrary is likely to meet with incrednlity. Yet ther€ is Teason to believe that many of the common observations concerning these plants are incorrect. All the species are exceedingly variable, And it is easy to select fruits from large plantations which bear some external resemblance to ftaits of other species, and it is natural to sap- pose, in the present confused state of oar knowledge of hybridity, that auch fruits are hybrids.
I began definite experiments in crossing cncnrbitfi in 1887, and aelections and close observations were begun before that time. The "Work has been continued upon a large scale, and I have now made fully 1,000 careful hand pollenations, and have obtained no less than 1,000 types of pumpkins and squashes never recorded. The plantations of «electious and crosses covered some eight acres this year.
The experiment is only begun. The maia reeulta of it can not be announced until further work has been done. But some of the inci- -dental features of the research can be stated from time to time.
1. Immediate effect of crotting. — The "immediate effect of cross- ing" is a term used to denote any change which may occur in the frujl the same year the cross is made, as a result of the influence of pollen. Whatever effect the pollen may have is osaally shown in the offspring -of the crossed fruit rather than immediately, the same season, in the irnit itself. There are bnt few plants in which an immediate effect of crossing has been proved, and of tbeae Indian com is the most familiar. It is commonly said that it occurs in pumpkins and squashes also; bnt it certainly does not. There has never been any immediate influence whatever in any of our crosses, except such as was due to imperfect development caused by insutftnient or impotent pollen. In other words, the effects of the cross are seen only in the offspring of the frnita. It is easy to prove, withoot the aid of artificial pollenation, even among the most variable squashes, that there is no immediate effect. If there were an immediate effect, all the fruits upon a vine woold be likely to be different, as every one wonld probably receive a different pollena- tioD. This diverse pollenation wonld almost inevitably result if many varieties were planted close together, for the flowers of pumpkins and «qnashes are impnrfeot and cannot polleuate themselves. But the fiict
422 STATS HOBTIOnLTVBAL 800IETT.
i8 that all the fVnita on any vine are alike, with some trifling exceptions iu rare caaes dne to arrested deTelopment or the like: the eeeential characters of the fraits are the same. This Bbows that the character of the vine is determiDed by the character of the seed from which it comes. My observation shows that this Is invariably the case.
There is no reason, therefore, to sappose that there is ever any immediate effect of crossing in pumpkins and aqnashes. '
2. Do pumplcint and aquasheg mix t — I^o one appears to doobt the Indiscriminate mixing of pumpkins and squashes. Before considering^ the question, it is necessary to divide the halts called squashes inta two gronps. One group iuclndes the summer and fall aqnashes, like the scallops, common orooknecka, cocoa-nnt, Bergen, and the like ; these belong to the same species as the field pumpkin, Cucurbita Pepo. These squashes cross with the ordinary field pnmpkin and with each other, although the mixing even here does not appear to be indiscrim> inate. The other gronp inclades the Hubbard, Marblebead, turbans* and the so-called mammoth sqnasbea and pumpkina like Mammoth Chill and Yalparaiao; these belong to a distinct species, Oucwrhita maxima. Many careful pollenations have been made between these two classes of fruits, and in no case have seeds been procured. Sometimes the fruit will develop for a time, and in two or three instances a summer crookneck pollenated by a turban sqoash has developed until half* grown, and has then persisted until the end of the season, but it was seedless. All our experiments show that Ouaa-bita Pepo and 0. maX' ima do nob hybridize.
It ia an easy matter to tlnd fraits in any large assortment of pump- kina or aummer squashes which might be taken for hybrids with the Habbaid or turbans by a casual observer. But none of these fmits which have come under my observation — and I have seen hundreds — possess any marks of hybridity, and they have occurred in our experi- ments among pedigree stock which had no Cucurbita maxima blood in it. These so-called hybrids are nothing more than incidental variations of Cucurbita Pepo, and they may appear anywhere at any time.
Our experience and observation show, therefore, that the field pumpkins and the summer and fall types of bush aquaabes do not mix with the running squashes of the Hubbard, Marblebead, Boston Marrow, turban and mammoth types.
*Tbe eame observation can b« made with reference to blackbertles and raap- berries. Over 250 auccesBful hand pollenations were made tblsjear between black- berrleB, raspberries and dew-bertles tn mao^ combinations, and tbere were n& immediate effects.
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UIBOBLL&NEOUS PAPERS. i23
3. Impotency of individual poUenation*. — In pampkina and equashes the flowers are eitlier wholly staminate or wholly piBtillate, aud they cfWDot, therefore, pollenate themBelres. Bat the two kiods of flowere are borne upon the same plant. PollenatioQ between two flowers npoa the same plant I have termed iadivldoal polleoation, in distinction from close poUenatloD, or pollenation of the flower by itself, and ft-om cross' pollenation, or pollonatiOQ between flowers on different plants. It has been shown by Barwin and others that pollen is sometimes impotent opon the pistil of the same flower, and I have been mach interested, therefore, in the reladon of pollen to pistils npon the same plant in monoBOioos species (those in which the sexes are borne in difTerenl dowers npon the same plant). My attention was first called to this sab- ject in 1889, when some twenty or thirty sqnash flowers were polli ated from flowers on the same plant. A number of fraits grew to ma- turity, but they invariably produced poor seeds. This year the sab- ject was carefully examined ; 185 sqaash and gourd flowers of some fifty varieties were individually pollenated ; 163 of these did not pro- dace frait ; the remaining 22 curried fruits to matnrity, but in every case the seeds were thin and worthless. These 22 fruits represented 13 bush summer squashes of various kinds, five small ornamental goards, and foar crosses between bush squashes and gourds. In cross pollenations made daring the same time and in the same manner, a large part of the crosses were saccessfnl, indicating that the fiulnre of the Individnal crosses was dne to the inability of the pollen to fertilize the ovoles rather than to incidental methods of operation. The experiment indicates that pollen of squashes which cannot produce fertile seeds may still canse the development of the fruit. This influence of pollen is well attested in other instances, but it is not impossible that squashes may sometimes develop withoat any pollenation whatever. At any rate we have tound this to be the case in some other cucnrbibs, and it is a point npon which we are still working, and concerning which we have mnch data.
This impotency of individual pollen is a matter of immense impor- tance to originators of varieties. It is commonly held that the best way in which to " flz " or render permanent new varieties, so that they will reproduce themselves by seedage, is to in-breed or close pollenate them, but the above trials indicate that this is impossible or practically so in pompkins and squashes. An instance in my own experience is SQggestive. From stock which was crossed in 1887, 1 obtained in 1889 one sqoash of great excellence. It appeared to combine more good qualities than any sqnash of its type that I have ever seen. To pro- core as many plants of it as possible, in order to cross and fix it, I
424 8TATB HOBTIOULTURAL BOCIBTT.
planted all tbe seeds from tfae best ftait In the spring of 1890. These seeds, all fVom ooe sqnash, produced 110 distinct varieties, and onlf one plant was like the parent 1 The only thing to do was to pollenate the flowers of this one plant with pollen from it«elf, bat it soon became evident that all of these indivldnal pollenations wonld fail. It was then necessary, late in the season, to pollenate the remaining flowers ftom some other plant which bore frnit the nearest like the one under experi- ment. Fortunately, two or three other plants bore similar ftatts, and by the nse of their pollen two good fruits were obtained.
It appears, therefore, that in sqnaahes and pumpkins the pollen is impotent apon pistils on the same plant, and that tnie in-breeding does not oecar in them. The experiment will be extended to all varieties.
4. I>o eueumbers spoil mutkmelona f — If any dogma finds general acceptance among horticnltnrists, it is the opinion that maskmelons are rendered insipid and worthless by cncnmbers growing in their vicinity. Most growers suppose that this inflaence is immediate, but a few hold that it appears only in the offspring of supposed crosses between the two species. Several years ago my observations led me to doobt this influence, bat definite experiments were not undertaken until last win- ter, when a house of forced melons and encumbers gave a good oppor- tunity to make cross pollenations. Tn these trials we failed to prodnce melons when the flowers were pollenated either by the common white spine or the English forcing cucumbers.
Last summer the work was undertAketi in tbe garden ander the best of opportanities. Sinety-seven muskmelon flowers of various varieties were pollenated by cucumber pollen of many kinds. TSo frnits developed. Twenty-five cacamber flowers were pollenated by mnsk- melon pollen. Only one fruit developed, and that was seedless. These fignres certainly indicate that melons and cacumbers do not cross, and therefore that the inflaence of one upon tfae other is fictitious. It has been suggested by one who has followed this experiment that even if the cucamber pollen will not fertilise the muskmelon, it may Btill exert a sort of secondary influence if applied along with muskmelon pollen. But if the encumber pollen does not even possess the power of devel- oping the fruit walls, as onr experiments show, it is inconceivable that it shonld exerl any influence whatever. The single seedless trnit of encumber which developed in the maskmelon pollenations, does not prove that muskmelon pollen will cause the development of the fruit walls of the cucamber, for oar experiments have shown conclosively that cucumbers will often develop to fall size without any pollenatioa
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MIBOBLLANEOUS PAPBB8.
425
ThBteTer.* Those who make experiments in the poUenation of maek- melonB mnBt bear in mind that some varieties bear perfect flowers, and the anthers moat be removed before the flower opens.
Oar experience indicatea, therefore, that the common opinion that cncombers spoil mnekmelons is, at least, exceedingly donbtfol.
6. Progrettion of fiowert When I first began to cross the cncnr-
bits I noticed that all plants prodace far more staminate than pistillate flowers, and that the staminate flowers appear mnoh earlier in the sea- son than the pistillate. A stud; of Habbard and Boston Marrow flqaashes in 1887 showed that pistillate flowers rapidly decreased in nambers daring a prolonged droath. Becords were also kept of the nnmber and time of appearing of the flowers of each sex in other ca- corbits, but as those records were not published, I have had similar ones made this year. All the flowers were counted as they appeared apou two mnekmelon plants, one watennelon and one caoamber plant. These plants were all treated to ordinary garden condition ; no pollena- tions were made npon them, and no flowers were removed, so that their characterieticB as recorded below are entirely normal. In forcing en- cnrbits in winter, snch as encumbers, mnskmelons, sonmer squashes and benincaea, I have invariably noticed this same disposition to form ataminate flowers first and most abundantly,
RECORI>— 1890.
|
UuBkmelon. |
Watermelon |
Cucumber. |
||||||
|
No. 1. |
No. a. |
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|
Stam- inate. |
Plitll- Ute. |
Stam-Pletll- inate. late |
Stam- inate. |
piBtn- late. |
Stem- luate |
PUtll- late. |
||
|
i |
3 - 1 2 1 3 |
4 2 3 3 6 7 9 10 16 |
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|
9 1 1 1 |
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* The matter of cuonmber poltenattoo, together with notes upon the forcing of cncambers, wlil form the aubjeot of a future bulletin.
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STATE HOBTIOCLTUKAL SOCIETY.
RECORD, 1S90— Contluaed.
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Uaikmelon. |
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No. 1. |
No. 3. |
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Stam- ioate. |
PlrtU- lale. |
Stam- Inate. |
Pitta late. |
Stam- ioate. |
Hrtll lat«. |
»tam- lnat«. |
piitn- laW. |
|
|
4 2 11 S » IS 10 18 8 17 17 16 16 8 31 10 U n 16 IS 34 |
2 4 3 1 1 1 |
3 2 6 4 4 3 3 3 6 6 1 4 3 4 a 8 1 3 3 3 1 6 8 4 3 3 4 4 7 |
1 1 1 3 1 3 2 1 I 1 |
8 12 10 10 14 10 10* IB |
I 1 3 1 4 1 |
18 14 11 17 « 33 37 IS 33 IB 34 SO 38 |
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16 |
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19 , . |
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ao |
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21 |
'■■ 14 |
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23 |
20 as |
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84 |
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21 a 16 SI |
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1 3 |
16 10 IS 12 6 30 |
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4 |
s |
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MIBOXUANBOUS PAPERS.
KBCORD, 1890— CoDtinaed.
Hnskmelon.
I- Plst)l-]sUm- i late. I In ate.
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428 8TATB HOBTICnLTUBAL 80CIETT.
These figurea are fall of significance. They show that the stam- inate, or male flowers, are more Domeroas in each case than the pistil- late, or fertile flowers, ranging from six to twenty-foar times as many. They show tliat the pistillate flowers make their appearance later in the season — trom five days in the cacumber to thirty days in one of the maakmeloDS. They also show that as a mle the staminate flowers «ontinae to appear later in £^1 than the pistillate. Maskmelon ISo. 1 was a weaker plant than the others, and It began to fail by the middle ■of September. It is, therefore, instractive to observe that in this plant the proportion of pistillate flowers waa^ the smallest, and that they appeared later and ceased earlier than the other planta. And the flgores illQBtrate the common observation that the cacnmber is more precociouB than the melons. The figures show forcibly the necessity of starting melons early in our short seasons.
L. H. Bailbt.
USE,OF FUNGICIDES ON THE APPLE, POTATO AND GEAPB. Xzperlment No. C6 — IIHooIb Bxperlment Station.
The Apple. — The corroded, dark-colored spots or patches very fre- qnently seen on apples are the result of a parasitic fangns known to botanists as FaHcladium dendritioum. The disease itself is called "scab." We say the apples are "scabby." It is often a very injurious disease. The apples so afl'ccted are unattractive in appearance, are often less in size than they woold have been, are misshapen, and do not keep well. Bot sets in at these corroded spots, and the whole &uit soon perishes.
Upon closer observation it may be seen that the central part of the affected spot is covered during the growing season by a dull, dark green, velvety coating, wholly nnlike the polished skin of the healthy fruit. Aroand the margin of the spot there is a narrow whitish band. The gteenish part is producing a dense crop, and the velvety appearance is itself due to the multitudes of spores covering the surface at the time. The white rim is the dead and somewhat upturned edge of the epider- mis, which is destroyed little by little by the slow-growing fungus. At first the scab is a mere point. From this point the fnngus radiates in every direction, and the scab grows larger in consequence. Then the varnished natural protection of the inner tissues having been destroyed, the latter are mach more subject to other rote.
The same fnngus lives upon the green leaves and twigs of the tree, and really does much more serious damage here than by the more con- spicuons injury to the fruits The leaves become more or less distorted, often thickened in places and bulged. Finally these affected parts die outright, leaving the leaf ragged or entirely destroyed.
MISOELLAKBOnB PAPBBS. 42^
Trees thns affected in mtdenmrner cannot matnre a good crop of flmit, neither can they properly prepare tbemselvea for winter. It will tberefore be seen that the disease is really a bad one, and that any method of Bncceasfally treating it is of mnch importance.
The experiment of testing the valne of fungicides was began oa apples in 1S88. The apple trees and fmit in the experimental orchard planted in 1872 had for several years been Infested with scab, to snob an extent that on many varieties little or no perfect fruit cottld be foand^ while none of the varieties were entirely free ftom the disease. Thia orchard famished as good a place as coald be desired in which to test fongicides on apple scab. As there was nothing later at hand for a guide, Bcriboer's report on " Fangas diseases of the grape vine," 1886, was followed in the preparation of eau eeleste. According Ut his formala a preparation was made of 1 lb. of copper salphate ( blue vitriol) to 10- gallons of water and one pint of commercial ammonia, and it Was ap- plied May 24th to one aide of each of seven apple trees. The same trees were again sprayed lightly with a weaker solution (1 lb. to 15 galU water) May Slat. The first spraying bad injured the leaves very deci- dedly, so much that two of the trees lost half their leaves within a few- weeks. The trees were again sprayed June 25th with «ai( eeleste of the weaker solation, and this time an additional tree was sprayed to see whether the preparation of this strength woold burn the leaves and fruit. Examination of this tree a week later showed some damage to the leaves, bat not enough to make any of them fall.
A solution of solphate of potassinm was made (5 oz. to 10 gallons of water), and four treea were sprayed with it May 24th and Slst, and June 25th ; one tree. May Slst and Jane 25th ; and three trees Jane 25th. The anlphide of potassiam produced no injurious effect that could be seen.
All the treea and varieties of apple that year, whether sprayed or not. were practically free from scab, and the only thing gained was the knowledge that eau celeste at the strength used would injure the apple.
In 1889, fonr Winesap trees, planted in 1879, were sprayed on one Bide with eau celeste, and three other Winesap trees on one side with the Bordeaux mixture. (Formula on p. 433.) The spraying was done June 5th and 17th, and July 3d. The fruit when picked was divided for comparison into scabbed and not scabbed, all those being put in the latter list that were so free from scab as to be nninjured for market The following table shows comparative resolta:
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STATE HOKTICCLTUBAL SOOIBTT.
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Whole Duoiber. |
Not scabbed. |
SetbM. |
|
|
Applea from sides of ueeB vpnjti with rou eeUite. . . |
' 148 133 137 lU |
61 19 79 16 |
78 |
|
Bidei of tree* iprAjed with Bordesux |
« |
||
There were not only more good apples in proportion to the whole nomber on tlie sprayed sides of the trees, bat the apples piched ont as not scabbed were Iarg«r on the side sprayed than on the other.
In 1890, six Winesap trees were sprayed with a preparation of citt- honatd of copper. (Formula on p. 4-^S.J Four Winesap trees were left nnsprayed as checks. The spraying was done May 20th and Jane 18th -and 26tb. London parple, at the rat« of L lb. to 160 gall, of water, was appUed with the fnngicide May 20th. It has been reported that the application of London parple with the fangicides is more likely to damage the foliage than If they ate ased separately. N'o damage comi&K from the spraying was noticed in this case. The apple crop for the season of 1890 was, as all know, almost a complete faUare. The six trees sprayed yielded, when picked, September 30th, 68 lb. of apples — less than one baahet ; and the trees not sprayed yielded 12.9 poands of apples — less than 1-4 of a bashel. Even with the very small crop, the effect of spraying was very clearly seen, the apples from the sprayed trees being more nearly free from scab and averaging mach larger. Fifty-eight apples from the sprayed trees were eqaal in weight to 100 from the trees not sprayed.
The table below shows results:
|
1* fl |
Fi 1? |
P rr |
1? II |
^1 |
|
|
K trees sprayed with carbonate of copper. |
58 lb. I2.»Ib. |
16.1 lb. SJlb. |
383 147 |
116 3 |
268 |
It seems desirable in this connection to notice the work of others in the same line.
Some work done in 18S9, in Wisconsin, nnder the direction of Professor E. S. Goff, borticultnrist of the Wisconsin Experiment sta- tion, gave excellent reanlts with the preparation of carbonate of cop-
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- HIBOBLLAKBOtTB PA.PBB8. 431
per and very &voTabIe resolte withpotasBinm salpbide, eoda hjposo]- phite, anlplmr powder and liquid salphar preparation. The carbonate of copper gave so mnch more &vorable reanlts than either of the others that Mr. Ooff seeme inclined to recotomend that alone. The teet showed that of the apples sprayed with the carbonate of copper 75 per cent were entirely free from scab, vhile of the apples hot sprayed 23.3 ^er cent only were free from the scab.
In a similar set of experiments made by Professor L. B. Taft,horti- caltnrist of the Michigan Experiment station, the best resalts were obtained from the use of a modifled form of eav eelette (Formula on p. 435), though results nearly as favorable were obtuned from the use of the preparation of carbonate of copper. In Professor Taft's trials 12.6 per cent only of the apples ou the trees not sprayed were free from «cab, while on the trees sprayed with the moditied eav, celeste 63.8 per oent, and on those sprayed with carbonate of copper 51.2 per cent of the apples were entirely free from scab.
The Potato. To test fungicides on potatoes a tract of 10 rows, 80 ft. long, was used. This was subdivided so that the plats sprayed each -consisted of 10 rows, 20 ft. long. The plats lay adjoining each other, and appeared to be as nearly equal at the beginning of the experi- ment as could be desired. Jane 23d and July 5th, plat 1 was sprayed with the Bordeaux mixture, plat 2 with eav celeste, and the third plat vith carbonate of copper. At the time of the first spraying the po- tato Tines and leaves were perfectly free from disease, but they be- ^n to show it within a week, and within three weeks most of the leaves were dead.
The plat sprayed with Bordeaux mixtnre appeared to remain green longer than the rest, while the plats sprayed with the other two pre- parations showed no positive results nntU time of digging, when the
put spr&yed with Bordekox mixture yielded....
Plat sprayed with eau etUtte jieidvd
Plat sprayed with carbonate of copper yielded.. Plat not sprayed yielded
mi lb. 66} lb. 6S} lb. 33} lb.
Althongfa the yield in all the plats is small, the difference between -the plat not sprayed and those sprayed is very marked.
The Grape. The black rot of the grape is by far the worst of the American vine diseases, though these are very nnmerons. It may be called the rot of the grape berries in most portions of oar country Though it affects both leaf and fruit, it is apon the latter that it is oom-
432 STATE HOBTICULTUBAI. BOCIETT
monly observed. Ae in the case of the scab of the apple, this, too, is the work of a parasitic fongus fPhysalospora BidweUiiJ, but a widely different species from that previously described. The extreme onter layers only of cells are killed in the apple, bat the whole substance of the grape is destroyed. On the green grape berry may be seen at first ■ a minnte brown point which rapidly enlarges Into a broad brown spot, sharply boanded by the healthy green substance of the froit. Within a few days' time the small affected area enlarges nntU it covers a half or more of the berry, which so far preserves its shape. Soon, how- ever, this affected part shrinks, the skin becomes wrinkled ; then tlie whole berry dries np into an irregnlarly angular, and comparatively small mass. It nsoally adheres a long time to the stem with perhaps all the others belonging to the same bnnch or clnster. After the skin has become considerably wrinkled, close looking will reveal a dnsty, white powder breaking ap from minate openings in the shriveled fruit. This dust is made up of spores, each exceedingly minnte in size, but capable of starting the same destruction in a fresh berry. Bains and dews favor the development of the rot, because the spores require water for their germination, when they foil trom the wind currents upon the skin of the berries.
On the leaves the fungus is found in small dead spots, distributed over which may be seen with a magni&er little dark-colored pastnles. From these latter are poured forth the same kind of minate white spores that form the powdery substance on the rotting berries. How- ever, the vine itself does not usually suffer severely. It is the fruit that is mostly affected.
The shriveled berries at length fall to the ground, where they lie during the winter and spring, and in them during this time another kind of spores is formed, which perpetuates the fungus for another year's destruction. The total loss of grapes in our country by this dis- ease amounts to a great proportion on the average of the whole crop. It is exceedingly fortunate that we can attain so much of success in combating it by spraying. Testing fungicides for black rot ou the grape was begun in 1888. The vineyard used for the test is one belong- ing to the University farm, in which the ftuit had several times been badly damaged or nearly destroyed by black rot, though the year be- fore spraying was begun, the fruit had been almost perfect, there being- so little rot that it was not noticed.
The vineyard is on a fiat piece of ground, not well drained ; it eon- tains abont 1} acre in 14 rows. Four rows were sprayed with sulphide of potassium and four with the strong eaw celeste, the same aa first used on the apples. The spraying was done May 31st, June 25th and July
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HI80EIX1NE0US PAPSBS. 433
'9th. The grape leaves were slightly bamed by the application of eau ■eeUtte. Some more than half the grapes rotted on all the vines, whether sprayed, or not sprayed, and a careful estimate of resalts the latter pEurt of Aagast, and weighing thb fmit when gathered, failed to show any difference that conld be attribated to spraying.
Daring the sammer of 1889, the four rows of grapes referred to above were sprayed with the eau celeite and fonr others with the Bor- deanz mlxtore. The spraying was done May 20th, Jnne 5th and 17th, and Jnly 3d. The grapes began rotting by the Sth of Jane, and the rot kept spreading, almost without stopping, antU the few grapes left were bejnnning to tarn. Many of the vines by that time bore no perfect frnit. The four rows sprayed with the Bordeanx mixtare were the best, bearing 38^ pounds of soand berries, bnt no perfect bnnches. The fonr rows sprayed with eau eelette bore 27 poands of sound berries. The ■six rows not sprayed bore 32^ poands of Bonnd berrieti. The peroent- ^e of grapes rotted was not estimated.
In 1890, sammer pmning in connection with spraying was tried :
Two rows were sprayed with Bordeaux mixture witbont pronlng.
One row was sprayed with Bordeanx mlxtnre and kept prnned all janmmer.
Two rows were sprayed with ean celeste withoat pruning.
One row was sprayed with eau eelette and kept pruned.
Two rows were sprayed with carbonate of copper.
Two rows were kept pruned and not sprayed.
Foot rows were neither pruned nor sprayed.
The spraying was done May 20th, Jane 18th and Jane 23d, and Jnly 5th.
No rot was found on the grapes by the examinations made ap to June 10th. It was the intention to spray again on the lltb, bat rains prevented that day, and for several succeeding days. A carefal exami- nation made June 17th showed that at least half the berries had began to rot, the diseased spots varying in size from mere points to spots one- ■eighth inoh in diameter. The number of grapes rotting continued to increase after the spraying of the 18th, and a few apparently started to rot after the spraying of Jane 23d. The rot did not appear to spread to new berries daring July or August, but a few seoond-crop berries rotted during tJie damp weather of October.
The subjoined table of reeolts indicates that, while the spraying may not be a specific, it is at least a partial remedy for the black rot ; it also shows that on vines kept summer-pmned and sprayed, the grapes rotted less than on those sprayed and not pruned ; while on those pruned and not sprayed the grapes rotted much worse than on those
HB_28
434
BTATB HOBTIOnLTUBAI. SOOIETT.
neither pmned nor sprayed ; that grapes on vines not caltivated, the weeds being occasionally mowed off, rotted more than on those kept clean by cnltivation:
I h
Two rows Tines not aprityed or pruned
Two rows sprayed with Bordeani, not pmned. . .
Oaerow sprkyed with Bordeaux, pruoed
One row sprayed with eau eelaU, pruned
Two rows sprayed with sou etlate, not pruned.. Two rows pruned, not sprayed
Two rows not 8pra;ed, pruned or oultlrated 93.5
9.6
3.»
a.87-
The place in which the carbonate of copper was nsed does not give a fair test of its efficiency as a preventive.
The advantage of snmmer prnning vines to be sprayed seems U> come from the greater certainty of getting the fangicide npon the ber- ries. Grapes pmned and not sprayed rot worse than those not pmned nor sprayed, becanse the dew forms on the exposed &att and not on tliat covered over with leaves, the dewdrops affording the proper con> ditiou of moiatare for the growth of the spores of the rot. The berries can be reached properly by the spray without snmmer prnning, if the spray-nozzle is thrast in among the vines instead of being held on the ontside. The pruning of itself does harm rather than good.
As a resnit of the work done here it is recommended that vineyards be kept well cultivated, and that where they have been previoosly sub- ject to block rot tbey be thoroughly sprayed with the Bordeaux mii- tnre or with eau celeite as often ae the season may demand. If the season continues dry all the time, there is little chance for the rot to develop ; but a spell of warm, rainy weather, coming at any time from the setting of the fruit to the time of ripening, may start the disease into active work. The disease cannot be cured bat must be prevented. The first spraying may be done in the spring as soon as the first leaves are developed, and it is commonly recommended to repeat it three to 8LZ times.
D.-iiiz'i:;!., V^H_H_'V|1>
MISCELLANS0U8 FA.PXB8. 435
The Bordeaox mixture leaves a greeniah sediment on the fruit, and when applied in large amount or late in the season, injures It either for market or home use. The aediment may be removed by dipping the berriea in a wash made of one quart of cider rioegar to Ave gallons of water. The other fungicides leave no apparent sedimeut on the fruit.
The work done at other places, and especially that under the direc- tion of the U. 8. Department of Agricaltnre, has been so successful that there is no room to doubt the profltableneas of spraying grape- vines when they are infested with either the black rot or downy mil- dew. In a recent report issued by the Department (Journal of Mycol- ogy, Vol. VI, No. S) is given an account of an experiment in spray- ing, in which a vineyard, flo badly infested that it had been abandoned for five years, after being pruned and cleaned np, was divided into five plats, four of which were treated with different fongicides, aud the fifth left as a check.
On plat one, sprayed eight times with Bordeaux mixture, 99.2 per cent of the crop was saved.
On plat two, sprayed eight times with ammoniacal carbonate of copper, 97.5 per cent of the crop was saved.
On plat three, sprayed eight times with carbonate of copper in suspension, 93.64 per cent of the crop was saved.
On plat four, sprayed three times with ammoniacal carbonate of copper, 97.27 per cent of the crop was saved.
On plat five, which received no preventive treatment, not a single bunch was produced which was fit for market.
Beports nearly as favorable come from several other soorces. It woald appear from all accoants that to attain satisfactoiy results per- sistent application is necessary.
P0BKTJLA8.
The following formulas for fungicides are taken frwm the Horti- caltnrists' Bale Book, edited by Professor L. H. Bailey :
AmmoDlacal carbonate of copper— Into a vegEel having a capacity of 2 qts. or more, put 1 qt. of commercial ammoala (Btrength 32 deg. Banme) ; add 3 oz. car- bonate ot nopper ; itlr rapidly for a moment and the carbonate of copper will dla- eotve In the ammonia, forming a very clear liquid. Thte conoentrated liquid may be kept Indellnltely. For nse, dllut« 23 gtWt,
Bordeaux mlztare— Dlaaolve S Iba. of aalphate of copper In 16gallg. of water. In another veisel slake 4 Iba. of qalek-ltme In 6 galla. of water. When the latter mixture has cooled, poor slowly Into the copper eolation, care being taken to mix the dnids thoroughly by eonatant atlrrlng. Prepare aome days before using, tjtlr before applying.
San celeste— Diasolve 1 lb. of sulphate of copper In 2 galls, of water. When completely dissolved and the water has cooled, add 1} pt. of commercial ammonia. When ready to use, dUote to 32 gallg.
436 STATE HOETIOULTTTBAL 800IBTY.
A iecond mctbod of preparing eau rttate : Df taolve 1 lb. Balptaate of copper ]a S galli. of witter. In »iiatber vessel dlaeolve 1 lb. of carbotiftte of loda. Hlx tbe two Bolutione, uid when cbemlcal aotlon baa ceued, add !{ pL of commercial am- noola. For nse, dilute 23 galls. A modlltcatton of tbls latter metbod Is 2 lbs. sulphate of copper, 2} lbs. carbonate of soda, and 1} pt. of commercial sminonia, prepared as Before .
The Bordeaux mixture is more difficult to Dse than either of the others, and in the hands of some of oar best experimenters, haa given little if any better results.
HACHINES.
For spraying in a small way, some one of the forms of knapsack pumps is most convenient. For work on a larger scale, a machine moQDted on wheels is better. We have been using the past year the Eareka sprayer, and it has given excell'-nt satisfaction. Good ma- chines' may be foand advertised in almost any agricnltaral or hortionl- toral paper.
GBNEBAX OONOLUSIOHS.
The various compounds of copper offer efficient protection to many cultivated cropa against the exceedingly destmctive ravages of fungous parasites. Without treatment, these rote, rusts, mildews and blights frequently destroy a large pioportion of or even the entire pro- duct of fields and fhiit plantations. The applications in the shape of watery sprays are made so readily and with so little expense in money and labor, that every one interested shonld at once undertake the work. The practical results already attained constitute the greatest advance made in recent times in the application of science to horUcal- ture. A little well-directed effort may be confidently expected to re- turn a hundred or a thoiwand times its cost. Still there is need for much vigilance and carefnl attention to every detail. Mistakes may be made even then, and sometimes failures may occur for which existing knowledge may offer no esplanation. But we shonld persevere, gain all possible information upon the snbject, and watch well the effects ld every test. In this way every one may hope to conquer, practically, these insidious and heretofore invincible foes.
If the readers of this paper desire further information concemiDg the subject, write to the Agricnltaral Experiment station, Ohampaigo, Illinois.
T. J. BtTEEiLL, Ph. D , Horticulturist and Botanist, G. W. McGlubb, B. S., Assistant Horticulturist.
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HISTORY AND PUBLICATIONS
OP THE
State Horticultural Society.
BY F. A. SAMPSON, 8BDAUA, MO.
Previoaa to 1869, Hod. X. J. Oolmao, then editor of the "Yalle; Farmer " at St. Louis, in editorials in tbe tenth and eleventh volames, urged the formation of a aociet; for the promolion of fmit-growiog, and OQ the 6th of Jaaoaiy, 1869, a tevr perHona met ia JefTerBon City "for the pnrpoee of advaDoiag and directing the frait-growing interests of MiHSonri and the west"
The meeting organized by calling Prof. G. G. Swallow to the ohair, and the appointment of Mr, F. R. Elliott, aflerward Secretary of tbe American Pomological society, as secretary. The name " Missouri Fmit Growers' AsBOciatiou " was adopted, and Mt. Oolman was elected President ; F. R Elliott, Becording Secretary, George Hoemann, Oor- respooding Secretary, and John Gamett, Treasarer. The Vice- Presi- dents were Dr. MePberson, Prof. G. 0. Swallow, George M. Horner, Dr. McGnire, Eldridge Bnrden, William 0. Price and John Dedrick. Among others taking part in the meeting were Hon. W, B. Morris, of St. Lonis; Mr. C. 0. Manwariag, of Hermana; Mr. Bichter, of Jef- fbrson county ; Hon. B. W. Weils, Gen. Minor, Gen. E. Tj. Edwards and others, of Jefferson Oity.
Twenty-one years later the Society again elected Mr. Oolman as its President, and in his address at the annual meeting in 1880 he thus re- ten to the early yefua of tbe Society ;
At the time of lis orgatilz^tloD the goldBD era of horttcultore wae downing In thla 8t«t«. The Society flouriBhed and hortloaltnre fionrlthed. EDttauabtalic hoi^ tlcalturlata. not onlj from all parts of this State but from onr oefgbborlng State of minoia, became members. The meetings were awaited with Interest, and the at- tendance waa large. The dlaoHSBloaa were Interesting and Instractlve, and the pnb- •tcatlons of tbe proceedings Were eagerly sought by taortlanltariata from all parts ,
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.438 STATE HOKTIOITLTURAL SOOIBTT.
of the Union. The tables were loaded with the finest specimens of fruits and wines, ftnd their merits were extoUed over the broad land. Tbe canse of hortlcnl- tare flourished like a green bay tree. At this period In the hlstoirof the aocie^ DO State horticultural association In the nation stood higher. Bach high repate did our socletj and the bortlcQltare of our State enjoy, that a meeting of the Amertoao Fomologlo&l society was held here, and It proved to be one of the largest and most attractive ever held by that society. Tables enclrollng the Immense hall and cross tables were Inadequate to bold the samples of fruit and native wines that were ex- hibited. Fmlt-growers from theEast were nnable torecognize varieties with which they had been familiar at home trom their boyhood, on account of their superior size and riebness of oolorlng.
A called meeting was held at tbe Fair groanda at St. Loais on tbe 27th of September, 1869, when Dr. L. D. Morae was made Becordiag Beoretary in place of Mr. Elliott, who had moved ft-om tbe State, and yarioQs kinds of frails were exhibited and discnased.
Theflrstannnalmeetingafter the organization was held at Jefferbon City on tbe 27th of December, 1869, and Mr. GolinaD was re-elected President; Vice-PreBidents, Dr. A. W. McPherson, Prof. G. C. Swallow, Oeo. M. Homer, Dr. MoOnire, E. Burden, W. G. Price and John Ded- rick ; Oorreeponding Secretary, Dt. L. D. Morse ; Recording Secretary, Wm. Mnir ; and Treasnrer, Dr. 0. W. Spalding. It was decided to publish a pamphlet containing tbe proceedings of this and all prior meetings, and an essay on grape cnltore, by Mr. George HoBmann. For a number of years Mr. Mnir filled the ofBce of Secretary, and is afterward deecribed by Mr. Mudd as " a devoted and intelligent horti- cnltariBt, underBtanding all onr terms and phrases, familiar with our nomenclatore, his reports got ap in such manner as to be of interest to all, and it is believed, contriboted, in great measore, to create that zeal and devotion in onr members which enabled as not only to maintun oar organization, bat to increase tbe interest in and attendance on oar meetings tbrongh the period of a civil war, which destroyed all similar organizations in all the other slave-holding states."
A cfdied meeting was held on the 7th of September, 1860, at Her- mann. The next annual meeting was held at St. Lonis on the 8th of Jannary, 1861. At the former annual meeting no fi-uits except grapes were exhibited; bat at this and all succeeding meetings many varieties of fruits and wines were shown. By-laws were adopted at this meeting, and Dr. 0. W. Spalding was elected President; Vice- Presidents, Dr. A. W, McPherson, Prof. G. C. Swallow, Geo. M. Horner, W. L. Irving, Eldridge Bnrden. Wm. 0. Price and W. S. Jewett ; Re- cording Secretary and Treasurer, Wm. Muir ; and Corresponding Sec- retary, Dr. L. D. Morse.
The next annual meeting was held in St. Louis on the Hth of Jan- uary, 1862. It is said that the address of the President was " most
BIBLIOaBAPHV. 439
tt«aatifal and forcible," but anfortnnately it was not printed in the pro- «6ediDgs. It was at this meeting that tbe name was changed, on the snggeation of Dr. Spalding, to that which it now bears, iu order that the society might have a " wider range of parpose, embracing all the objects of hortionltnral design and improvement." Dr. Spalding was re-elected President ; the Vice-Presidents were Dr. A. W. McPherson, Prof. G. C. Swallow, Geo. M. Horner, W. L. Irving, Eldridge Bnrden, Wm. C. Price and W. S. Jewett; ConeBpondiog Secretary, Dr. L. D. Morse, and Becording Secretary and Treasarer, Wm. Mnir. A com- mittee was appointed to see if the transactions of the society conld be pabliehed iu the same volume with the transactions of the Illinois Horticaltaral society, bnt this does not seem to have been done.
The next annnal meeting was held at St. Louis in January, 1863. The following officers were elected: President, Henry T. Mndd; Vice- Presidents, Dr. B, F. Edwards, George Husmann, O. H. P. Lear, Isaac Snedeker and William Hadley, the two latter of Illinois ; Correspond- ing Secretary, Dr. L. D. Morse, and Recording Secretary and Treas- arer, Wm. Mnir. An essay on the grape was read at the meeting by Mr. George Haemann, and was pnblished on pages 38-43 of "Ad Essay on (he Cultare of tbe Grape in the Great West," by the same author, pnblished at Hermann in 1863. In the Proceedings of the meeting of January, 1S64, 1 find the active membera included Henry T. Mndd, K. J. Colman, George Husmann, Dr. L. D. Morse, Dr. H. Claggett, Dr. B. F. Long, Dr. B. F. Edwards, Wm. Mnir, John H. Tice and others well known in later years.
The report for 1864 gives a list of 133 members. Only a part of the later reports give lists of members, but the number varied greatly from year to year, in 1873 it being only 29. The membership fee has been a mere nominal amount, and this is sufficient reason for the great variation in the number. Perhaps the present plan of giving a list of the members and correspondents is the best, withoat making any spe- cial effort to have a large membership, the work of the society in any «veut being done by a few members.
The first list of life members was given iu the Proceedings for 1872. Tbe following are all of the names found in the different pnblished lists : Benry T. Uudd, Chulea Peabody, J. C. Evans,
A. E. Trabne, Jobn H. Tioe, L. A Ooodman,
Hezekiab Claggett, Daniel L. Hall, D. H. Dunlap.
Honorary members were first given in the Proceedings for 1834, and the Itnt to the present time is made up of the following ;
George HaBmann, C. W. Mnrtreldt, Marihall P. Wilder,
T. T. Lyon, N. J. Colmaa, Charles Downtng.
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440 BTATE H0BTI0T7LTUSAI, SOGIEIT.
In 1883 the cosstltntioQwae amended eoaa to especially provide for lad; members, and since that time they have made a part of the society^ and joined in the proceedings at the aonnal meetiDg.
The society has made exhibits of ftnit at varions places, and accomplished mnch in this way by directiogthe attention of the people of other states to Missonri as a fruit state. At the meeting of the- American Fomological Society, at Rochester in 1879, several medals were awarded to it — one for the largest and best display of applet made by any society,anotherfoTthebest display of grapes, and another for the best display of pears. Again in 1883 it made an exhibit of frnits at the meeting of the same society, and also at the Glrand Bapids meeting in 1885. In February, 1883, it showed 85 varieties of fine ftaits at the meeting of the Mississippi Valley Horticaltaral Society at New Orleans. In 1884 it took varioas preminms at the Exposition in yew Orleans— a gold medal and $200 on 200 varieties of apples ; a silver medal andtlOO on 100 varieties of apples; a silver medal and $76.00 on 50 varieties of apples ; two other siWer medals and twenty smaller pre- minms. At the Ht. Loais Fair, the St. Lonis Exposition and other places it has made exhibits with similar resalts.
In 1882, the society having an appropriation from the Legislature of $2,500 for two years, decided to establish an experimental orchard and garden at the Agricnltnral College gronnds, for testing new fmitft and vegetables; and the reports of the committee in charge of th» work show valuable resnlts.
The first report of the present secretary was that of 1883, and it» as well as the succeeding ones, contains not only the original papers read at the meetings, but selections from the horticultural jonmals published during the year. The twenty-eighth report has the " Flora of Missouri," by Prof. S. M. Tracy, taking up 106 pages, the first catap logue of the plants of the state published since that by Geyer in 1842. I will not notice in detail the different meetings, or the contents of the Proceedings. Each volume conti^ns mnch of interest, and if the practical horticulturist had a complete set of the Proceedings and would read them all through carefally once a year, he wonid learn much that would help him to do more intelligent work, and to reap more abundant reward for work done. Each volume has many papers which wonld teach him new ideas to be pat in practical operation or which would assist in educating the mind, and at least enlarge the capacity of enjoyment, and widen the scope of vision — the tiller of the soU too- often contenting himself with simply living an animal life, with mind but little more developed than those of the animals with which hi» work brings him into contact.
BIBUOaBAPHT. 411
The following table shows the ofBoers of the society from its- organization to the present time. After 1868 the offices of correspond- ing and recording secretary were united in the same person, and since 18S1 the constitntiou has provided for a vioe-president, instead of one for each congressional district as was the case previoas to that time. The table also gives the time of each meeting, its serial namber and the nnmber by which it is known in the pablished proceedings :
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PaW'd I No. of meet. >
STATE HOBTICDLTUBAI. SOOIETT.
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> nae ElltDtt, removed from tbe State. ' Viet Vorles. redded.
BIBLIOGBAPHT. 443
The organization of the Horticaltnral Society was prior to the in- oorporatiOD of the Missouri State Board of A^icnllnre, which was by act of the Legialatnre approved December 1, 1863, thoagh previoaa to that time there existed tlie Missoari State Agricaltaral Society, to which, by an aet of November 23, 1855, ooanty societies were required to report. The aot of 1863 provided that there should be printed oaoh ye&t 3,000 copies of a volume containing the report of the Board of Agrioultnre aud the proceedings of the Horticultural Society, the Tolnme to be issued under the direction of the presidents of the two bodies.
Thij was afterward changed so as to make the number of copies €,000, and that section of the act was again amended March 24, 1875, providing that the volume should be issued under the direction of the President of the Board of Agricnlture, without joining with him the President of the Hortionltnral Society, and providing that 14,000 copies flhoold be issued, 2,000 of these being in German, and that the volume should not exceed 600 pages. Provision was afterward made for the State to publish the prooeediags of the Horticultural Society in a «eparate volume, and 3,000 copies of this are now issued.
President Madd, in his annual address in 1865, recommended a library for the Society, to embrace horticultural, pomological and agricultural works and periodicals. The recommendation does not 8eem to have been acted upon, and should the society now wish to do so, it would find much difficulty in getting a set of its own Proceedings, or even that put of the set which has been published since the date of that address. Had each Secretary saved from immediate distribution a hundred copies of the Proceedings of every year, it would now have not only a supply for itself, but the means of completing sets for such libraries as would care for and preserve its pablicaltons.
Frevions to the law of 1863 the proceedings were published by the Society itself, and as the annual dnes of its members were but 41.00 before 1866, special contribntions had to be made by the mem- bers to provide the funds for pnblication.
In numbering the reports the first meeting was not counted, so that when the Society issued what it called .the proceedings of the eighteenth annual meeting for 1877, it bad met in annual meetings 19 times. The Proceedings of the meeting in January, 1879, were called the twenty-first, there having been but one meeting between these two, I have not a copy of that report, but presume the explanation was made in it, that there was a change in the numbering so that the volumes would correspond with the years. The Proceedings of the January, 1874, meeting were published in the Agricultural report for L873, and
444 8TATK HOBTrOTJXTUEAL SOOIBTT.
as that report was onlya pamphlet of 72 pa^es, copies soon became destroyed, bo that I have never Been bat one copy of it, though I havfr searched for it a long time in dilTerent parts of the State. It fnrnislies- another proof of the fact that aa nnbonnd boolc or pamphlet Is soon destroyed, while the bonnd one is not.
In my library I have nearly a complete set of the Proceedings of the Society, and wiehing to see those I have not got, I wrote the prin- cipal libraries in the State to find which of them had the copies wanted.- The replies were as follows: The State Historical Society had none^ and did not know that there was saoh a society which pablished its pro- ceedings; Mercantile library, BL Lonis, has none of those wanted, its set being very deiicient, bat hopes to be able to fill it up ; Fablic library, St. Louis, has no reports whatever of the society ; Academy of Science^ St. Loois, has none of those wanted ; Agricnltoral College of the State University, Colnmbia, " the University library does not contain the horti- cnltnral reports;" the State librMy, Jefiferson City, has none of those wanted. These replies snggest varions thonghts, perhaps the most striking being that the State Historical Society does not know of the existence of this Society, and that the horticaltnral department of the State Agrienltaral college has none of tlie pnblieatlons of the Stato HorticaHnral Society. Is the state of foots shown the resnlt of negli- gence on the part of librarians, or becanse the pablicstions are not worthy of preservation T 'So one wonld intimate the latter, and to par- tially overcome the former, the Secretary might pot the different libra- ries in the Slate on bis list to receive copies of the proceedings.
The following bibliograpy of the publications of the Society wilt show the exact title of each report, the time and place of holding the meeting, the number of pages of each volnme, and the publication of which the proceedings formed a part, when they were not in separate books in themselves. The nnmber I have given each shows itsnamer- ical order of publication :
Proceedings of the Missouri Fruit Growers' Association, for 1856, and the FroceediugB of the Annual Meeting for 1860, to which is ap- pended an Essay on Grape Caltnre, By George Husmann, of Her- mann, Mo. St Lonis : T. W. Usticfr, Printer, 78 Pine Street. 1860. 64 pp.
Th« report of tbe MeetlngattheFairOronDds In September, 1868, contained In thie, wu fdrnlshed bj tbe Secretary to tlie " Valley Parmer," and 1b In Volume XI, pp. 8G0~I, Nov., 1B60.
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filBLIOGBAPST.
Proceedings of the Miesonii State HortJcaltnral Society, at their aoDiud meetings, ia 1861 and 1862. 65 to 116 pp.
The rvport oT the meeting of Jannarj 1961 1b kIbo omitalned In the " Valley Farmer," Volume XIII, pp. 88-90, llS-9. ir.a-2. and 132-4, March to June, 1861 .
Tb« report of the meeting of January 1862 1b in Volume XIV, pp. 87-9, 117-9, 148-50, 247-8. 810-13, 2T5-8, S42-fi and S7i-S.
3 ProceediogB of the MisBoaii State Horticoltnral Society, at their Foorth Anooal Meeting, held at BL Loaie, on Taesday, 13th Jannary, 186S and three following days. Baint Louis: Printed at the "Talley Farmer" otBoe. 97 Ohestnnt street. 1863. 68, (2), pp.
ProceedingB of the MiBaonri State Horticaltnral Society, at their Fifth Annnal Meeting, held at St. Lonia, on Tuesday, Jannary 12tb, 1864, and three following days. Saint Louie: George Knapp & Co., Printers and ;^inder8. 1861. 148 pp.
Proceedings of the Missouri State Horticaltnral Society. [Sixth Meet- ing, Jan. 10, 1865.] <lst Agricnitnral Report, 1866, Appendix pp. 267-391. <Seaate Jooroal, Appendix, Adj. Ses&, 23rd Qen. Assy, 1865, Tol. 11, pp. 267-391 of Appendix to Agricultural Beport.
6 Seventh Annual Meeting of the Missouri State Horticultural Society. [Jan. 9, 1866.] <lBt Agricultural Beport, for 1866, Appendix pp. 392-470. <Senate Jonrnal, Appendix, Adj. Seas., 23rd Gen, Assy, 1865, Vol. 11, pp. 393-470 of Appendix to Agricnltural Beport.
7 Proceedings of the Miesonri Horticullnral Society. [8th Meeting, Jan. 8,1867.] <2nd Agricultural Report, for 1866, pp. 339-507. <Honse Jonrnal, Appendix, 1st Sess., 24th Gen. Assy., 1867, Vol. 11, pp. 389-507.
Proceedings of the Missonri Horticultural Society at its Ninth Annnal Meeting, held io the Sopreme Court Boom, on the 14th Jannary, 1868. <3rd Agricultural Beport, for 1867, pp. 347-429.
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BTAXB HOETICULTUEAL 80C1BTT.
Proceedings of the MiBHOari tit&te Horticnltural Society, at its Teoth Annnal Meetiog, held at Golambia, Kovember 24th, 25th, and 26th, 1868. <4th Agricaltnral Report, for 1868, pp. 485-536.
Proceedings of the MisBonrl State HorticuUaral Society, at its Eleyeotti ADDoal Meeting, h^ld at St. Lonia the 11th, 12th, 13th aud 14th of January, 1870. <5th Agricnltoial Beport for 1869, pp. 1-12* and I.
II
TnmsactioDS of the Missoari State Hortioaltnral Society, at its Twelfth Annnal Meeting. Held at St. Joseph. On the 29th November, and the following days. Jefferson City, Mo.: Horace Wilcox, Pnblic Printer. 1871. <6th Agricoltural Report, for 1870, pp. 1-34 and 101-103,
12
Proceedings of the Missoari Horticaltnral Society, -at the Thirteenth Annual Meeting. Held at Kansas City, Jsnnary 9-11, 1872. <7th Agricilltnral Report, for 1871, pp. 39-112.
13 Proceedings of the Missouri State Horticultural Society at the Fonr- teentU Annual Meeting. Heldst Jefferson City, Janaary 7-10, 1873. <8th Agricnltaral Report, for 1872, Part 11, pp. 35-170 and 1-7.
Proceedings of the Missouri State Horticaltnral Society, at the Fif> teenth Annual Meeting. Held at Hannibal, January 13, 14, and 15, 1874. By D. L. Hall, Secretary. <9th Agricnltural Report^ for 1873, pp. 19-73.
15
Proceedings of the Missoari Horticnitnral Society at its Sixteenth An- nual Meeting. Held at St. Lonis, Missoari, Jannary 12, 13, 14 and 16, 1875. < 11th Agricultural Report for 1876, pp. 103-162 and I-V.
16
Proceedings of the Missouri Horticaltnral Society at its Seventeenth Annual Session. Held in the City of St. Loais, on the 11th, ]2th, 13th and 14th days of January, 1876. < 11th Agricnltural Report for 1875, pp. 163-261 and I-V.
BIBLIOaRA.PHT. 447
17
ProceedingB of the Missonri State Horticnltural Society, at its Eighteenth ADoual Session. Held at Kansas City, on the 19tb, 20tb, ^lat and 22nd of December, 1876. < 12th Agricnltnral Re- port, for 1876, pp. 135-216 and vii.
i8 (Sot seen.)
'9 Proceedings of the Missonri State Horticnltnral Society, at its Twenty- first Annnal Session. Held at Jefferson City, Mo., January 28-30^
1879. < 13th Agricnltnral Report, for 1879, pp. 235-351 and U-v.
20
Proceedings of the Missonri State Horticnltoral Society at its Twenty- second Annnal Meeting. Held at St. Lonis, Ho., Janauy 19-21,.
1880. By the Secretary, S. M. Tracy. < 14th Agricnltnral Report, for 1879, pp. 191-260.
Report of the Missonri State Horticnltoral Society, for the years 1880
and 1881. Edited by the Secretary. Jefferson Oity: Tribune
Printing Company, Printers and Binders. 1882. (Half page title : ) Miasonri State Horticnltoral Society. Twenty-third
Annual Report. <pp. 1-150, and I-III of volame containing this
and the next.
22
Proceedings of the Missonri State Horticnltnral Society, at its Twenty- fourth Annnal Meeting, Held at Colambia, Mo., December 20 and 21, 1881. <pp. 151-229 and I-IIl of volnme with preceding.
Report of the Missonri State Horticnltnral Society for the year 1882. Edited by the Secretary. Jefferson City : Tribnne Printing Com- pany, Printers and Binders. 1883. 92 pp., 5 plates.
24
Report of the Missonri State Horticnltnral Society for the year 1883. Being a report of the woricingB of the society for the year, to- gether with the papers and dJecnssions at the 26th Annnal Meet- ing, held at Carthage, Mo., Dec. 11, 12, 13, 1883. Containing also
■MS STATE HOBTICDI<TinUZ< BOGIBTT.
a constitiition for the workings Qf local or conoty hortloaltaral societies, and " Secretary's Badget," being choice clippings from the best horticultural papers. li. A. Goodman, Sec'y, Wastport, Mo. Jefferson Oit; : State Journal Co., State Printera. 1884. 351 pp.
25 Jteport of the Misaouri State Horticnltnral Society, for the year 1884. Being a report of the workings of the society for the year, to- gether with the papers and discnssions at the 27th Annual Meeting held at St. Joseph, Dec. 9, 10, 11, 1884. Also, a report of the Semi-snnnal Meeting held at Springfield, Jane 10 and 11, 1884 : containing also, a constitntion for the working of local or oonuty horticultural societies, and "Secretary's Budget" L. A. Oood- man. Secretary, Westport, Mo. Jefferson City: Tribune Co., State Printers. 1884.
36
Beport of the Missonri State Hortlooltnral Society, for the year 1885. Report of the 28th Annaal Meeting held at Warrenabnrg, Decem- ber 9, 10, 11, 1885, also a report of the Semi-annnal Meetinfi; held at Butler, June 10 and 11, 1886, and "Secretary's Budget." L. A. Goodman, Secretary, Westporl, Mo. Jefferson City, Mo.: Tribune Printing Company, State Printera and Bindera. 1880. 468, V, 506 pp.
27
Twenty-ninth Annual Report of the State Horticnltnral Society of the State of Missouri. Report of the Twenty-ninth Annual Meeting held at Lexington, December 7, 8 and 9, 188S ; also, a report of the Semi-annoal Meeting held at Louisiana, June 10 and 11, 1886, and ** Seorettu^'s Budget," for the year 1886. L. A. Goodman, Secre- tary, Westport, Mo. Jefferson City, Mo.: Tribune Printing Com- pany, State Printers and Binders. 1887. 431, YI, pp.
28 Thirtieth Annual Report of the State Horticultural Society of the State of Missouri. Thirtieth Annual Meeting held at Boonville, December 6, 7 and 8, 1887. Semi-annual Meeting held at West Plains, June 7, 8 and 9, and " Secretary's Budget." L. A. Good- man, Secretary, Westport, Mo. Jefferson City, Mo.: Tribune Printing Company, State Printers and Binders. 1888. 488, IV, pp.
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BIBLIOGBA.PHT. 449
39
TFhirty-fitst ADDoal Beport of the State Horticoltnntl Society of Mis- Boori. 1888. Thirty-firBt Anonal Meeting held at Kevada, Decem- ber 5, 6 and 7, U88, also, Semi-AnQaal Meeting held at Oregon, Jnne 5, 6 and 7, and 'other papers. li. A. Goodman, Secretary, Weatport, Mo. JelTerson City, Mo. : Tribnne Printing OompaDy State Trinters and Binders. 1889. 601, IT pp.
SO rrbirty-aecond Annual Beport of the State HorUcnltnral Society of Mis- souri. 1889. Thiity-second Anuoal Meeting, held at Lebanon, Deo. i, 5 and 6, 1889 : also, Semi-Annnal Meeting held at Brook- fleld, Jane 4, 5 and 6, and ottter papers. L. A. Gloodman, Secre tary, Westport, Mo. Jefferson Oity, Mo. : Tribnne Printing Com- paay. State Printers and Binders. 1890. 4S7, II pp.
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OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY.
FREFAKKD FOB THE CSK OF FABMKBS AND HOETICITLTURISTS, AT THB REQCEST
or THE 8ECEBTABY OF THB STATE BOARD Or AOKICOLTOBE ASD
THE STATE HOBTICULTU BAL SOCIETT OF MISaOUEt,
BY MART E. MUBTFBtDT, KIKKWOOD, MISSOURI.
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PART FIRST.
QEUfSRAL 8TBUGTVRB OF INSECTS.
tUuilmUd &y eltetroigpet from dravmgt iy Prof. C. V. ItiUt/, Wathingim, D.C.imd nni proetaa toork done under the tuperBition of Afr. Joiefih Bridgham, of JVondsnse, A. I,
CHAPTER I.
IKTBODDOTIOM.
What is ftn insect f This does not seem like a question difflcolt to ansver, and yet how few eftber of grown persons or children wonld be sble to define an insect otherwlBe than as "some sort of a bng." Sot it is true that all bags, properly so called, are inteeta ; bat it by no means foUows that all insects are huga. On the contrary, genaine bags form bat a small proportion of the flattering, bazzinff, crawling myriads to which the term is generally applied.
Insects are among the most familiar of nataral objects. They are met with in all climates aad sitoations, and in greater or less numbers at all seasons of the year. They claim oar attention in a thoasand different ways. We admire the beaaty of form and color in some, and shrink from the grotesqae ugliness of others. Many species iajnre and annoy as personally or damage or destroy onr property, while on the other hand a few, like tbe honey-bee, the silk-worm and the cochi- neal insect, prodaee some of oar choicest Inxaries. Is it not well then for as to endeavor to learn something of the stractare, habits and dif* ferences of a class of animals with which we unavoidably have so maoh to dot
How few people realize that there are as wide differences between insects and some of the animals that are nsoally classed with them — for example, spiders, millepeds aad earth-worms — as there are between cows and chickens and serpents ; and there are &r greater distinctions between butterflies and beetles and grasshoppers than exist between
464 BTA.TE HOETIODIiTDBAL SOCIBTY.
horaeB, cowa aad sheep. This may seem strange to one who has given the Bobject do attention, bat a little careful obserT^tion will convince him of its tratb.
It is impossible to obtain a definite idea of the strnctare of inseeta, and their place in the scale of being, without comparing them critically with other kinds of animals and noting the points in which the; differ. To obtain this linowledge withont the aid of books would involve a wide field of observation sod a great deal of labor in systematiEing the information gained. Therefore, to aid and direct the observations of the student, we will glance hastily over the outlines of the claSBifi- cation of the animal kingdom as arranged by the great French natural- ist, Onvier, after whom it ii called the "Curierian system." According to this syBtem all the animals, on or in the earth, monstroaB or minnte, are arranged in the /our following Sub-kingdoms :
I. Baokbonb animals (Sub-kingdom YEBTEBRi.), snch as have an internal bony fk»me termed a tkeleton, the axis of which is a spinal colamn composed of a number of peculiar joiote called verUbrie. Ex- amples— Man, Birds, Fishes and Beptiles.
II. BiKGBD or ABTiauLATE animals (Sub-Kingdom Abtiodlata), having an external tongh or homy &amework composed of rings or articulations enclosing the mnscles and other soft tissnes. Examples — iDsectB, Spiders, Millepeds, Grabs.
III. MOLLTJSKS (Sub-kingdom Molluboa), sofl-bodied ammals nsoally enclosed in shells. Examples — Snails, Slugs, Oysters.
IV. Stab or Badiatb animals (Sub-kingdom Badiata). These are formed somewhat upon the plan of a star or asterisk, with all the members branching oat ftom a common center. Examples — Starfish* Sea Urchin, Coral auimaL This diviaion inclades mostly marine ani- mals.
Each of these Sub-kingdoms iB divided into several very distinct elasset. Passing over the classes of Backbone animals, we will con* fine our attention to the Abticulata in which insects, althongh by no means the largest repreeentativee, occupy, on account of their more specialized strnctare, the highest rank. The classes of Abtioulaia are Jive in number, viz. :* Insects (InteotaJ, Thousand-legged worms or Millepeds (MyriapodaJ, Spiders fAraohnidaJ, Lobsters and Grabs fOruttaeeaJ, and True Worms (AnnelidaJ,
*AcoordlDg to Gavler, whose pluia will answer our preient pnrpote.
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OTJTLIN88 OF BNTOMOLOOT,
For coQvenience this dassification. may be tabulated thas : AD iniKl Kingdom. •
Vertobra. f lDHot«.
AitlouUU. Hyrlapoda.
i Araobnida. Holtasoa. CroBtaoea.
Radlau. (.Annelida.
In proceeding to separate true ioBecte from tbe otber membere of tbeir sab.kiDgdom, tbe moBt oUvions distinotioQ ia tlist tbe; alone among artionlates ever possess wjn^t. There are, howeTer, some in- sects, mostly of the worst repate, socb as fleas, bed-bags, lice aod a few otbers, that never acquire wings. We have, therefore, to seek in some other organ, or set of organs, a characteristic by which we can distiogaish any insect from other articulates, and one which will, if possible, have a peculiar development in each of the classes. Sncb a distinction is fonnd in the number of the legt. Thas insects, in their perfect or adult slate, always have aix legs, neither more nor less — altfaoagb in some butterflies the front pair of legs, not being used, are of diminished size, and are tucked up out of the way. Millepeds, as the name denotes, have numerous lei^, from thirty to four hnndred; apidere and mites have eight legs ; cmstaceans from (en to fourteen legs, while the true worms have no lega at all in any stage of their existence. We have, therefore, only to count the legs of an artioalate animal to And oat in which of the preceding classes it belongs.*
The term "insect," which is derived from two Latin words, in and seeo — out into — in reference to the ring-jointed or inseeUd body, was, tiy some of the earlier writers on natnr^ history, applied to the entire gronp of the articulates, and tbe various classes were distingoished as ** six-legged insects," " eight-legged insects," " many-legged insects," And so forth. Bat as the etmctare of these animals was more thor* ougbly studied, they were found to be more widely separated than was at first supposed. The term " insect" was restricted to the six-legged class, and other names, more suitable, applied to the remaining classes. Insects are further distinguished from other articulates in having the external framework composed apparently of thirteen or fourteen rings or Joints, which are separated into three regions, the first joint forming the head, the succeeding three the thorax, and the remaining nine or ten the abdomen and its appendages.
In the millepeds the number of rings varies from ten to two Aim- ■dred, and tbe head alone is distinct from the abdomen. In the spiders the joints are so elosely consolidated that two only can be perceived, the first forming the combined head and thorax (eephalo thoraxj and the second tbe abdomen. In the crustaceans the nnmber of joints is
"Except in the case of tb« young Of some Httei, whioli also baveonty >lx legs
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tSt STATE HOBTIOtTLTUSAL SOOIBTY.
Turiable, and in Bome species (he division is into three regions, as ii» insects, wliil« others bear some resemblanoe to spiders in the arrange- ment of the joints. In the framework of the wonos we flud iiameroii» joints, bnt no diatinot head, thorax or hind body.
Another and very interesting pecnliarity of insects is fonod iik their tramfonmationt or metavufrphosea. Insect life begins with an embryo contained in an egg. From 'this egg hatches the first aotive- forrn, which is called a larva (plural lama), the term signif^ng a maskf, becaase the true form erf the insect is considered to be masked or con- cealed at this stage of life. All caterpillars, gmbs and maggots are- larvie. When the larva is fnll grown it changes, in most cases, to a- very dififerent object, und is then termed a pupa (pinral i^uptc], ttom a word meaning a doll or mummy, in reference to its qnieseeoce and tbe- swathed or bandaged appearance of its members. From the pnpa in due time emerges the perfect inteet or imago (plnral {magnet), which is the Bnal form and the one in which it possesses wings, nnless it be- longs tcthe few wingless species.
The chief office of the perfect insect is to develop and li^ the' eggs ftom which another generation of larvie will hatch, and, In the case of some species, to provide food for their yoang.
To britly recapitnlate, in answer to onr opening question: An insect is an articnlate animal having the external skeleton composed of a nnmber of rings or joints, which are separated into three groups to form a distinct head, thorax and abdomen. It has six lega, and, in its- perfect state, has two or /our wings, and is fnrther characterized by changes of form and habit called metamorphoses.
The science which treats of the stmctnre, habits and classificatioik of insects is called Entomology, a term composed of two Greek words. which signify a " disconrse on insects."
Economic Entomology has for its object the investigation of the habits of injurious insects, with a view to the better preservation of oor persons and property ftom their attacks. It also includes experi- ments with snch species as are or may prove to be valuable for their products or properties, and endeavors to ascertain which are indirectly useful to man on account of their parasitic and cannibalistic habits.
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OnTLINSa OF EHTOMOLOGT.
CHAPTER 11.
,L.)
EXTERNAL 8TBTIOTUBB OF INSECTS.
In our introductory chapter were noted 8om« of the differences between insects and vertebrate autmaiB, and atsoT between insects and other articnlates. " Xow in order to comprehend these dis- tinctions still more clearly, and to nnder- stand how the Tarions parts and organs are modified to produce the almost innumerable diverse forms, it becomes necessary to examine the general strnc- ture still more critically.
The external crust or skeleton of an insect forms a many-jointed tube in which, as has already been men- tioned, are enclosed and protected all the softer vital parts, such as- the msscles, nerves, the ur and blood vessels, etc. The most common form of this tube is more or less oylindrical, bat in some insects it is shortened and flattened so that the outline is oblong, oval or nearly circular. This body-wall is composed of fourteen ring-like sections or segments which are more or less closely connected. Of these joints the first, forming the head,* is most distinct. The three joints foiming- the thorax have the appearance of being firmly soldered together, and it is often difficult to trace the divisions. In the abdominal region, on the contrary, the rings are loosely connected by a flexible and elastic membrane, which allows them to move freely in any direction. Two- or three of the terminal joints of the abdomen are changed from their- original shape to form and support stings, piercers, forceps, and the like, so that we are seldom able to distinguish more than six or seven distinct rings in this part of the body.
It most not be supposed that the fourteen joints are the only divi* sions of the insect skeleton. If this were the case we should never have occasion to admire the grace of the butterfly's flight or the surprising- agility of various beetles and bugs. The fact is that each joint, although it may appear like a simple ring, is composed of tiom six to nine vari- ously shaped pieces, esch piece, however closely fitted to the others^ being capable of independent motion by the muscles within. Otherwise an insect would never be able to move a wing or leg or other organ. * Dr. Packard oonsldera tbeheadaaooinpoaedof foarjointa.
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aepaiately. Od tbe tborss of m&Dj emootli, bard-shelled ioeectg, like wasps and beetles, ve can readily trace the divisions of each joint by means of fine impresBed lines.
The insect crast varies greatly in texture and thickness. In some insects, and especially in many larvse, it is very thin, easily bent and easily broken; in others it is bard and brittle like shell, or dense and impenetrable like metal. Examples of the shelly texture are found in the pnpffi — termed chrysalides— of butterflies and moths, while the metal-like covering may be seen in the cases of tbe beantifnl Brazilian beetles, often nsed by jewelers in the place of gems, which are so hard that tbey can only be pierced by a drill.
The majority of insects have the bead separated &om the thorax And the thorax from the abdomen by deep incisions, or the contraction of the connecting joints. This will be understood by a glance at the Ulnetration at the head of this chapter, or better still by examining the body of a bee, a butterfly or a fly.
The back or npper anrface of the body of an insect is termed the ■dortum or dorsal snr&ce, or tergum, tbe sides tbe pleuritea or lateral sor&oes, while tbe under side is tbe venter or ventral sur&ce. The top of the thorax is sometimes further distinguished as tbe noium, tbe under side, or breast, being correepoudingly termed the rin-mtm.
In exact scientiflc description a number of other terms are used to indicate the various divisions of a segment, or to refer to precise loc^ities on the body, but these are not necessary to a general appre- hension of tbe stractare, and would only confuse and discourage a beginner.
CHAPTER III. THB HEAD AKD ITS APPRNDAOBa.
As with the higher animals, tbe head of an insect is more especially the aensorial region, becaase it contains the organs of sight, touch, taste, smell, and possibly in some species, of hearing also. The sense of feeling is not, of course, confined to the append- ages nsed by tbe insect for touching objects — which in this sense correspond to the hnman hand — but ex- tends over the entire surface of tbe body. ,Apuui>^ —"-■-'
Certain localities on the head are frequently re- ^"m.'' ferred to in descriptions of insects. The more important of these are:
iMcaponndefSB:
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OOTLIKBS OP BNTOMOLOGT. 459
the Oodpia, which is the back apper part (Fig. 2, a J; the epieranitim, the front tipper part (Fig. 2, bj, and the Olifpeug, whicti occupies the space betwf>eQ the epicnniam and the mooth. The top of the head is also aoinetimea called the Vertex; the front, the faee or Front; the sides, the fkettt or Geiia. The manner in which thAse parts are devel> oped varies greatly in different insects.
The principal appendages ur organs of the head are the Jtfbufft, the Syet and the Antenna.
The month presents a variety of forma, being adapted in different inaects to the kind of food npon which they sabsiat, and also to the rariona offices, besides those of mastication or soctioD, which are per- formed by it.
All the rariatiooa in strnotore, however seemingly diverse, are made apon tao plans, viz.: jate» for biting and bectka or tabes for sncklog.
The month of a biting insect consists of «ix dis- tinct parte, collectively called Trophi. These parts are the lips — upper and nnder— and two paira of , strong, horny organs which form the jaws and move from side to side and not np and down like the jaws of the higher animals. The apper lip is called the Labrum (Fig. 3, o), and the nnder lip (not shown in the iilnstration), the Labium. These parts are sub- fron*; t. epiaconiB;' c' ject to great chaogfs in Shape, and seldom bear moch dibiHi ' /■ mniiiKi 7 resemblance to the lips of Vertebrates. The upper pkipi; i. ■Btemw. or principal jaws are termed Mandible* (Fig. 3, eej.
They are strong and sharply toothed, and are the chief iostramenta for seizing and tearing the food.
The lower jaws (Fig. S,f/J are called the Maxillce (sing, maxillaj, and are nsaaUy more slender and flexible than the mandibles and ter- minate in a point.
Besides these six principal month parts, most insects have t^m oae to three, generally two pairs of slender-jointed organs, called Palpi (sing, palputj or mouth/eelem. One pair ia attached to the lower jawe, and ore termed the maxillary palpi (Fig. '6,gJ, the other pair, connected with the lower lip, are the labial palpi (Fig. 3, k). Their Office aeenia to be to aid in the selection of food and to brush imparities from the taee and aateDnse.
The sacking or kavstellate insects have tbe same number of month parta, bat they are developed on an entirely different plan. In aome species, aaoh as the true Bogs, most of tbe parts are nnited to form a «tiff, jointed beak, with wliich the leaves of plants or the skins of ani-
460 STATE HO&TICIIILT0BAL SOCIBTT.
male are panctared and the juices or blood extracted. In others, like the BattetflicB and Moths, the combined partB form a long, flexible tnbe, neaally called a tongue, throagh which the nectar of Sowers and similar flaids may be drawn. Id others still, the lower lip and the maxillEB together form a sort of tongue for collecting sweets, while the mandibles are not altered. Bees and Wasps have this kind of month.
The organs of vision are situated apon the epicrauinm io ft'ont or near the top of the head. i
They eonsist of a pair of promiuent compound eyes {see Pigs. 2 and 3, ddj, composed of a great number of six-sided lenses. In shape these compound eyes are round, oblong or reuifonn (kidney-shaped). In addition to these, many insects are provided with three small single eyes, called ocelli (sing, ocelliiej, sitoated upon or near the apex of the head, in a triangle, as shown in Fig. 2, c.
All these eyes are fixed in their sockets, but protrade so much that some of the lenses fftce in each direction, and the insect has no need to turn its eyes to obtain warning of approaching danger, or in its search for food. It has been snggested that the compound eyes serve the ordinary purposes of vision, while the ocelli are ased upon objects that are near and minute; but this is mere conjecture. Some of the best observers and most cwefal investigators assert that with all the provision that has apparently been made for sight in insects their vision would seem to be very imperfect, especially for objects at a distance.
Black and brown are the colors most commoDly seen io the eyes of insects, but many species have eyes that gleam with the tints and bril- liancy of jewels, and add not a little to the beanty of the species.
The most striking appendages of the head of an insect are the Feelers or Antenn<g (sing, antennaj. These are maoy-joiated organs in which the sense of touch is thought chiefly to reside. Many experiments go to show that they are also tlie organs of smell. They are of a great variety of forms, a few of which are represented in Fig. 4. The differ* ent shapes are distinguished an knobbed, capitate, laminate, peetinatty filiform, etc. They are asnally attached a little below and between the eyes, as shown in flgores 2 and 3.
A knowledge of the form and position of the anteunie is very im- portant in the classification of insects, especially in such orders as the OoUoptera (beetles).
All the fnnctions of the antennte are probably not yet known ; bat it has been ascertained that besides serving the parposes already men- tioned, they are also indispensable in goiding the Sight of all winged.
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OUTLINB8 OF BMTOMOLOGT.
461
AotennM of ItiseoM. — ftnthoTi. I and S, lamelli baatlB! 3, oiplt&ts ant. pe<3tlaate*Dl. ofb^tle: a
ant. of b™<l8i 7, brliitle ..,,
Hj; », kaobb«d ant. of bulleiflji fattbendaiit. ofmotb.
species, and are, to a large extent, tbe in- stmments of comniQDlcation between in- dividaala of the same kind, as among ants, and no doabt aid the perception of in- sects in many vays that are beyond onr com prehension.
The sense of hearing in insects is not considered to be as generally developed as in the higher animals. Yet anqaes- tionably many insects do hear, although the special organs of this sense have been located in comparatively few species. Such ears as have been discovered are iptud ftom not found on the head, bnt on the &ont beetixi 4, legs aod at the base of tbe abdomen,
ja «, flllfOTm °
ipR^nt- »f These will be more particnlarly described in a succeeding chapter.
CHAPTER IV.
THE THOBAX AND A.BDOMBK.
The three segments immediately back of the bead coostitate the Thorax or chest of an insect. This division of the body is very com- pact and usually somewhat globular, or barrel-shaped. Eat^h of the seg- ments or joints composing it has receiveda special name; tbe anterior one — next the bead — is termed the Prothorax; the middle one, the Meaotiioraw, and the third or posterior one the Metatkorax. Each of these divisions, tbongh apparently entire, is in reality, as has already been observed, made ap of several irregalaily shaped pieces, which are connected in snch a way as to afford ftee play to the strong mascles within.
Tbe appendages of the thorax are the wings and legs. The wings of insects ai-e their most conspicuons members, upon which the beauty and, in a great measure, tbe safety and enjoyment of most species de- pend.
In their adalt and perfect state nearly all insects possess these organs, the only exceptions being the members of a few small groups, snch as fleas, bed-bugs, lice, some of the ants, and the females of a few moths and beetles.
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463 STATB HOSTIOULTTTBAL BOOIBTT.
Id their general etrnctare tbe Tinge of iDBecte show a oainber of very diatiaet plans or typea, which have been made the baaiH for the system of elaeBiflcation commonly adopted.
The wings ore attached to the mesothorax and metathorsx, and There present are always fonr in number, except in the order of the two-winged flies (BipteraJ, where only the nppet piur are ftiUy devel- oped, the lower pair being represented by little bammerlike organs, ealled RaUeret or Poisers.
Wings are composed of membrane, more ■ Tt^S. or less transparent, stretched over a frame-
work of homy tabes, termed vevM or nerves. The nnmber and arrangement of these tnbes oonstitate the Yenation or Smi- ration of the wings, to which fi-eqnent refer- ence is made in descriptions of insects. There are nsoally trora three to Ave princi- pal veins in each wing. These branch and intersect very differently in the types of different families. The spaces between the veinsare called cells, which are also named and nnmbered in regalar order.*
The first or apper wings are varioQSIy designated as the Anteriori, the SuperUtrB _. 1 .nd II, upper Md Trader wing. Or the Primariet, while to the lower or an- S'fiS?p!^%l!f°SSr."b^^"'"^ der pair are applied the opposite terms of Potteriort or Secondaries. Many of the best writers use the simple terms of /ore and hind wings.
These organs exhibit an almost endless variety of ontline, textai« and ornamentation. The wings of bntterflies and moths, for example, are broad and of rather frail texture, and are covered with minate scales and hairs of rich and varied colors. The app>er wings of beetles
* The outline and Teiofttton of tbe wings of Inaectn are made great nee of In olassl- flcatlon, and for the convenience ofuiy that maybe Intereeted, I append the terros applied to raargine, Telnaand oellB as follows: Od tbe wing of an Insect the upper edge, from wbere It Is Joined to tbe body to tbe most distant point. Is tbe eotia or eoaialedge. The extreme point if tbe apex. (In tbe flgure A, just above b*.) Tbe outer edge extends from the apex to tbe inner angle at d*, and tbe inner edge from this point to the Insertion of the wing. The veins are the costal vein. Just below «; i, eub-coetal vein; rf, median vein; *', ft', S*. S* and i\ aub-coatal velnlets; i', d^,d' and d*, median velnlets; e, Internal vein;/, disoal cell. Tbe other cells bear tbe names of tbe veins which enclose them and are numbered from tbe costal vein. In, B a is the costal vein; 1, 2, 3, coatal oella ; 4. 6, 6, sub-costal celts; 7, 8,9, median cells; 10, 11, 12, sub-median cells; 13, internal cell. Tbe veins and cells in the under wings correspond to the principal ones In tbe upper.
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ODTLUIBS OF XITFOMOLOaT. 163
are comparatively small, being modified into simple sheatlui, often of metalliu hardness and laster, beneath vhioh the lonfter and broader BoembnuieoiiB lower wings are compactly folded, except daring ilight. In the nuyority of other insects the wings are tianslaoent or transpar- ent, more closely veined, and not clothed with scales or hairs. The other organs of locomotion are the legs. In fblly developed insecta these are invariably six in anmber. Some of onr most oonspicaoos bni- terdies, it is tme, seem to have bnt four, bnt the absenoe of the front pair is only apparent, and close examination will reveal them folded olose against the breast and perfectly formed, thoogh vaail and ase- less. The legs of insects are modified in many ways to adapt them for running, leaping, harrowing and swimming, according to the habit of the species. Each leg consists of six parts : a large flattened joint called the eoxa, which is attached to the body ; this is succeeded by a- joint which is very variable in form, nsnally small, bat in some species large, and having the appearance of an ornamental appendage, and ia termed the trocanter (plnral troeantertj; next to this is a long and often very stont thigh or femur (ploral femora J, sncceeded by the ihank or t&tia (plnral tib<ej, to which is attached the foot or tartua (ploral tartij, consisting of from two to five small joints, and in many species terminating in a pmr of sharp claws, sometimes with a pad-like cnsfa- lon, termed a pulvUlus, between them.
y. f^ The abdomen in insects is composed
of ten remaining segments. In most species, however, the hindermost rings are modified into the apparatus for reprodnction and are drawn more or less within the body, so that only from fiveto seven joints can beclear- ly distingnisfaed. It is in this part of the body that the form of the typi- cal ring can be traced with greater accaracy than in any other region, as
,^w.f ".' «1"'.",CU'J? ?« «"• ««■""«» "O ""t "PPiMtly con- d. tibii; t, uniu; /. urwi fUvi: j. tibial goli dated as in the thorax, bat are
•put; B. leg of bee, elotbed with hBlr for ool- , , , , ., ... , ..i ,
iMtiDs poileni c. front i.R of mole cricket, fli- l»eld together qaite loosely with elaa-
tedfOTbnirowlnBliilheetrth: B.femnr: fl.tlblij yg membrane.
Along each side of the body is a row of more or less conspicaons orifices. These are the openings throngh which the insect breathes, and are termed $tomata or gtigmata or spiracles. They conduct to air- tnbes, to which more particnlar reference will be made in a succeeding
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■«6i STA.TB HOBTIOULTUBAI, SOCIETY.
-chapter. Tbere are niDe or ten, aometimee eleren paira of them, two OD the thorax and the others on the abdomen.
The only appendftges of the abdomen are the organt of reproduo- iion, vhich, in some species, as the bee and the wasp, are connected with those of defense, in the form of ttingt. They consist, externally, of yarions sorte of forceps or elaspm-g in the mate, and of sawa, augera, ■sveordt, and more commonly, pitrcert and ^inga la the female. All of these instruments are very ingenioas in their constmction and admi* rably adopted to the work for which they are designed. They will be -described in detail when the species to which they pertain are nader «onsideration.
CHAPTBE V. INTBBTTAL STEUOTUBB OF IN8B0TS.
The internal stnictnre of insects consists of the Jftxtwlar, Kervout and Cireuiatory systems, together with the organs of Be^iratitm, Nviri- tion and Secretion.
The examination of these parts is a work of great difflcnlty, owing^ to their extreme delicacy and mfnateness. Mnch of it requires a high power of microscope and the skill of a hand experienced in dissecting ; -consequently the descriptions — as with the cbaracters of external struo- tnre — cannot be easily verified by the observations of the tyro. Only a brief account, therefore, will be attempted in this chapter.
The Mutcular ayetem lies just within the external crust, or body- wall, to which it is closely attached. Its use is to hold the segments and their various appendages in place, and to move them according to the pleasure or necessity of the insect. 'It consists of a great number of distinct fibers, not gathered into bundles like those of higher animals, bat spread oat in thin layers over the parts requiring their action. In their arrangement the muscles correspond to the jointed strnctnre of the body. Each segment has muscles that stretch from its &ont edge to the front edge of the oue succeeding it, and others that in like man- ner connect the hinder edges. There are also bands of muscalar fibers passing around the body and others still that extend obliquely from one joint to another. The muscles of insects are a pale yellow color and of a «oft, jelly-like consistence. But, although so delicate in textnre their contractile power is surprising. Thus, many insects, of which the flea is a good example, are enabled to leap more than one hundred
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OTTTLINBS OF BNIOHOLOCtT. 465
times their own height, or to sosti^D, withont injnry, ireights several hundred times that of their ovd. The lofty aod loog-continaed flights of some species, the capacities of others for rnDoiDg, barroviug, bor- ing into hard Babslanoes, and for carrying or dragging heavy burdens, all attest the wonderful strength and elasticity of their maseles.
Tke Iferooua tgitem consists of .two delicate cords which extend longitndiDally, the one above the other, along the ventral side of the body. Insects have no brain, properly so called, bat the lower or ■externfd cord has a series of swellings or nerve knots called ganglia, varying in unmber from two to ten, from which nerve fibers are dis- tributed in various directions. The ganglion in the head is, in many «peoies, larger than the others, bnt does not differ from them in any other particular. liText to that the ganglia of the thorax are most developed, especially in perfect insects, since from them the snpply of nerve-force for the vings and legs mast be derived. The upper or internal cord is a simple thread withont nerve knots or branches. It Jies very dose to bnt scarcely in contact with the ganglionic cord. We find in this nearly equal distribation of nerve force the reason why many insects can live for a considerable time after a part of the body has been crushed or severed, and why the separated parts seem to be alike endowed with vitality.
Tke Gircul(Uory tygtem of insects is as yet bnt imperfectly ander- fltood. The blood is cold and colorless, or with a slight yellowish tint. It does not flow through tabes corresponding to our arteries and veins, but seems to bathe the other tissues without being confined to special «haanel8. There is, however, a long, narrow membranons 8ac,8ituated near the upper snr&ce of the body, which forms a sort of heart, the pulsations of which can be distinctly seen in many thin-skinned insects, -especially in larvfe. This tube is called the dorsal vessel, and is divided into several chambers by valves which permit the blood to pass only in a forward direction. The blood enters the dorsal vessel throagh open- ings in its sides, and, flowing toward the head, is expelled through a large artery called the aorta, from whence its course can no longer be traoed. In its progress it is aerified by contact with the eii vessels and mixed with chyle from the stomach, and is thus prepared to noor* ish the organism. It is scant in quantity compared with the blood of vertebrates, and the circulation seems to be slow.
Seapiratton or breathing in insects is performed, not tbrongh a jsingle trachea or air-pipe communicating with a pair of lunge, as in most of the higher animals, bnt throagh a series of delicate tabes which divide and subdivide so as to permeate all parts of the body. The openings to these tubes are in most insects on the sides of the seg- HB— 30
466 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOOIBTT.
ments, and are termed the Kpiraclet or stigmata. They vary in number from two in some wat><>r insects to eleven, asaally nine, pairs, and are often quite conepicaoas, eepeciall; in larvte. In their perfect state insects breathe mainly throngh the first fotir or five pairs of orifices, and conse- qaently most species may be easily anffocated and killed by a sharp' pinch or continued pressure on tbe thorax. Many insects have large vesiclee connected with the trachea which they inflate when abont to fly, thas lessening their specific gravity and enabling them to continno long on the wing with less mnsoolar exertion than would otherwise be necessary. The breathing organs of aquatic insects are termed branekia. They are analogous to the gills of fishes and present many very sia- gnlar forms.
The organs of S'vtrition are tew la number and simple in stracture They consist principally of the mouth, already described, by which the food is seized and masticated, and, internally, of a large, long tube in which digestion takes place. This tube is the alimentary canal, aod occDpies a central position in the body of the insect. In the more lowly species it is simply a straight duct or sac extending the whole length of the body ; bat In tbe highly organized forme it is contracted at intervals bo as to form several chambers, each of which bas a dis- tinct function. It terminates in a convolution of minute tubes that are supposed to represent the liver and tbe small intestines of higher ani- mals. The (esophagus or gullet opens into tbe first chamber or cavity of the central canal, which is analogoaa to the crop. This in turn com- municates with a smaller cavity, which is ridged internally or covered with hard, tooth-like points, and performs the office of a gizzard, from which the food passes into the largest alimentary division, representing the true stomach. In tbe latter are secreted the gastric and pan- creatic fluids, which, mingling with the comminuted food, prepare it to nourish the system. The digestive powers of insects are enormous in proportion to tJieir size, many species of herbivorous larves being- capable of digesting more than twice their own weight of leaves in the course of a day.
The organs of secretion, aside from those that elaborate the fluids necessary to digestion, consist mainly of the galivary, odori/erou* and poison glands. The salivary glands, so called, are greatly developed in such insects as the silk-worm, and the bee and wasp. They consist of two tubes, running parallel to the anterior portion of the alimentary canal. In the silk-worm and other larvte of the same family these glands secrete tbe gum which, when drawn oat throagb a little pointed tube beneath the month, becomes the beantifnl and valuable fiber- known as tilk.
ODTLINKS OF BNTOMOLOGT. 46 (
Th« salivary flaid ie nsed by the bee and waap to moisten and cement the particles of sap and wood from which the brood and honey cells are made.
The odoriferone organs are of varions constraction, and are located in some species in one port of the body, and in others in another. They are designed in some cases as a means of attraction between the sexes ; in others to repel the attaclts of their enemies.
The poison glands are sitnated sometimes in the month, bnt more frequently at the tip of the abdomen. The poison is of the natare of an acid, and is injected into wonnds made by the jaws or by the piercer or sting. Its use ie to ward off or revenge the attacks of foes and to paralyze or kill tbe prey required by the insect for its own food or as food for its yonng.
CHAPTER VI.
TBANSFOEUATION OF INSECTS.
TrniisfoTnialloiK '
wonn or boll worm fJ egg, magnlfled; c, 1st
Tbe transformations or metamorphoses of insects have been already alluded to as one of their most peculiar and interesting characteristics. These are certain changes of form and habit by which the life of every insect, after hatching, is divided into three more or lees distinct periods or stages.
Transformation may be either complete or partial. It is complete when the appearance and general habit of tbe insect is so different at each stage of its existence, that only experience enables us to recognize the varione forms as pertaining to the same iudividaal ; and partial when
468 STATE HOBTJOTIXTIjaAL SOOIBTT.
successive stages of development being marked only by the acqaisitioa of certain orgaDB and appendages.
The most flaniiliar example of complete traosformation is a£Forded by an insect which in its first active state is a slaggisb, worm-like cater- pillar, feeding roracioaaly on herbage, and changing in dae time to the inactive, casket-like chrysalis, which bears as little resemblance to the larvie that preceded it as to the imago that shall ultimately escape from it, viz., the broad-winged, bright-hned bntterdy, instinct with graceftil activity, as it hovers over the dowers from whicb it sips is sole noarish- ment, a dainty dranght of nectar. Examples of partial traosfoi-mation are fonnd in sach insects as grasshoppers, locusts, tme bags, etc.
The life of an insect begins with the embryo contained in an egg. Instinct goidee the parent insect in the placing of her eggs, so that her progeny.as soon as hatched,flnd themselve snrroanded with the kind of food they reqoire. The eggs of insects are of variona forms — round, oval, conical or disk -like. ' They are deposited singly or in clusters; sometimes openly exposed on the surfaces of leaves or stems, some- times concealed with the atmost ingenuity. Those of many species are beaatifally colored or elegantly aculptnred. The eggs of some small insects which produce but few are proportionately large, while on the other hand many large insects lay very minute eggs, bat make up in number what is lacking in size.
The insect in hatching from the egg enters od its larval stage of existence. This is the form in which all actual growth takes place, and in which,ae a consequence, the insect requires most food. It may, in succeeding stages of development, aasame different forms and acquire additional members, but it never really increases iu bulk.
The larvEB of the various kinds of insects differ so much in appear- ance, and in many other respects, that it is difBcalt to give a list of characters that are common to all. The typical form is more or less worm-like : *. e., cylindrical and elongate ; but the variations from this type are exceedingly namerons, even among insects whose transforma- tions are complete ; while those that andergo only partial transforma- tion do not conform to it at all.
In the m^ority of larvfe the thorax and abdomen are not distinct, except that the first mentioned region is often provided with the rndi- ments of legs. The latter are of a shelly texture, email and pointed at the extremity, with three or fonr joints. They are six in number, and are termed the true or thoracic legs, to distingaish them from the fleshy disks called faUe leg* or prolegi, which in many species support the hinder part of the body.
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0TTTLINB3 OF EKTOMOLOOT. 469
Many larvse, such as those of beee, flies and some Bpecies of beetles, hare neither legs nor prolegs — their movements, in coaseqaence of this lack, being much restricted.
In their habits larvfe are either active or inactive. The former — inclnding by far the larger proportion of the yonng of insects — are capable of sufficient exertion to enable them to provide for their own necessities.
Inactive or sedentary larvte, on the contrary, are hatched in cells or chambers, which they never leave, and sabsist npon food previonsly stored for their nse, or, as in the case of bees and ants, they are the objects of constant attention f^om the matnre insects.
In the coarse of their growth all larvte moU or shed their skins several times. This eingolar process becomes necessary at intervals, because the exterual covering wilt only admit of stretching to a limited extent. A new skin is constantly forming ander the outer one, and when the latter becomes too tight It is — after some preliminary fasting and other preparation — mptnred and cast oif, and the larvie appears in a new and for a time, more elastic dress. The nsnal number of molts is four or five. A few insects of the tower orders molt bnt twice, while others, especially certain aquatic species and others whose larval life is long, molt ft-om ten to twenty times. Sedentary larvae shed their skins in shreds and by degrees.
The length of larval life varies with the different species. Many complete their growth in a very short time, often witMn a week, white some continue to grow f^om one to several years. The average length of larval life among herbivorons insects is about four weeks.
When the limit of growth is reached the larva ceases to feed, and, guided by iostinct, prepares for its Brst transformatioD. Inactive larrea spin a slight web around their delicate bodies, and some kinds are sealed np in their cells by the mature insects.
Active larvie take various measures to secure themselves from ob- servation and injury during the time when they shall be powerless to escape from or defend themselves against their enemies. Some creep into crevices of stones or bark, or tiide ingeniously among crampled leaves. A targe proportion burrow into the earth ; others spin for their protection thick, silken or parchment-like cocoons, while some require nothing more than a retired nook in which to suspend them* selves by slender bnt strong cables of silk. Aft«r a longer or shorter rest in their various retreats, the larval skins are cast off for the last time, and each insect appears in a new and entirely different form and is termed a pupa.
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470 STATE HOBTICULrDBAL BOCIBTT.
Id the pnpa state most insects ore quiescent and appareDtlj life- less, and while it eoDtiunes are incapable of taking food or performing any of the active fanctions of life. Papffi that are enclosed in cocoons or cells are t«rmed foHieulate. A papa destined to give forth a bntter- fi? is designated a chrjftatit, from a Glreelc word meaning golden, in reference to the gilded ornamentation of many chrysalides.
There are two forms of qniescent papee, the obteeted and the eoarctate. In the first mentioned form the legs, wings and antennie of the fotnro imago are shown, each enclosed in a separate sheath. The pnpEB of bees, wasps, beetles, etc., are obteeted. In eoarctate pnpse a continaons shell encloses the members as well as the body of the insect.
The papic of insects not sabject to complete metamorphosis are active, and do not differ mach either in form or habit from the full- grown larvce, except in the greater development of the indimentary wings.
After a certain time, varying with the nature of the insect and with the season of the year, the second transformation takes place and the Insect issues from the pnpa shell in its mature or perfect form.
In this stage of its existence it is, with a few exceptions, charac- terized by the possession of fully developed wings. It has also large, compound eyes, conspicuous antennae and various other organs which did not appear in its preceding forms. The head, thorax and abdomen are now well-defined regions, and the sexes can usaaJIy be distinguished with ease. In most species the females are larger than the males, and the latter, besides being more slender in body, are often more gaily colored and have the antennae longer or more ornamental than those of the female.
The abdomen of the female is furnished with an ingenious instra- ment called an ooipositor, through which the eggs are conducted to such situations as will be most favorable to the future larvie. It serves not only to place the eggs, bat is used by manyinsects to drill holes or saw slits or otherwise prepare suitable receptacles for them. In each species the ovipositor is usnally a very conspicuous appendage. In others it is, when not in use, drawn entirely within the body.
As previously remarked, after insects have acquired their wings they never grow. Thus the idea that little flies or gnats develop into " house-flies " or " blae-bottles," as some people sappose, or that little beetles or bugs or butterflies ever grow to be large beetles or bugs or butterflies, is seen to be entirely erroneous.
Since perfect insects do not grow, it follows that they require but little food ; some are incapable of taking even a sip of dew or nectar.
OUTLINES OF ENTOHOLOQT. 471
Othera, like the batterfly and wasp, have a very different diet from that opoQ which they aabsisted as larvee! Some species, however, such as locosts, leaf-eating beetles, etc., retain their voraoions propensities through ont life.
Syper-metamorphoait, which attends the development of a few species of parasitic beetles and some flies of the Ephemera faoiily, is the assumption of more than the nsnal number of forme in the process of growth. The transformations of snch species are not invariably f^om a lower to a higher organization, bat some of the intermediate atsges are often of a retrograde character. This anomalous mode of development will be illaetrated in succeeding chapters in connectioa with the history of the Blister beetles, Bee parasites and iN'erve-winged flies.
Such is an outline of the history, continually repeated, of all insect life ; but the number of species is so vast, and their forms and habits «o different, that the careful observer flnds an infinite variety of detail which gives continual novelty and interest to the subject
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STATE HOBTICULtlBAI, aOOIBTTY.
Illustrations of teb Seybn Pbincipal Obdebs of Insbots.
Wood-boiliiK Wnp, Ortsr I.
Batterfly, Older ni. Bsvtle, Older II.
Aut-Llon, Order VU.
SyiphmBj, Order IV, Bng, Oidei T.
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OUTLINBS OF ENTOMOLOGY.
CHAPTER VII. CLASSIPIOATION AND NAMES OF INSB0T8.
Having io precediog chapters considered the characters by which ioBectB are distingnisbed from all other anitnalB, we shall now proceed to notice those by which they may be dietingaished from each other.
As a preliminary to sach observation it will be a good plan for th& student to collect for an hoar or two in varions sitnationfi — tield, wood and water-courses — all the insects that he can find. When these are ezamined he will perceive at a glance that they are not all alike — that they differ in form, size, color, and in many points of strnctnre. He- may then proceed to assort them, placing together those tliat appear to be exactly alike. The next step will be to compare the differeat lots, when it will be fonnd that several of these closely resemble one or more of the other lote, and sach may be arranged side by side. Still other combinataons may be made with these compound gronpsr antil Anally the entire collection will be embraced in a few comprehen- sive assemblages. These groops may be considered to represent Spe- cies^ Genera, Familie* and Orders.
Classification consists in a systematic arrangement of specimena according to their place in each division, thas showing their near and their remote relationships. By means of it we are enabled to consider a mnltitode of organic forms noder a few general beads.
A Speeiea comprises all individuals that are supposed to have had a common parentage, and are exactly alike in all essential points of stmotore and habit
A Omtu { plural gmera) is an assemblage of species that are not the same in all pariionlars, bat have more points of resemblance than of difference.
The characters npon which genera are based are different in the different ftuuilles of insects, and even concerning insects in the same &mily the opinions of entomologists differ as to what constitutes ft character of generic valne.
A family includes ell the genera that have in common a few impor- tant pecaliarities of form and habit.
A Tribe is an assemblage of families whose relationship, though remote, is inferred fi-om the similar structure of a few organs.
An Order inclades ail these groups and is foanded npon agreemeat in general stmclure and mode of development.
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474 BTATK HOETIOULTURAL 800IBTT.
With insects, as witli all otiier organic beings, the tpecies is the root of classification — the only group defined by nature. All other ■associatioDS of forms, thongb based npon natural affinities, have been devised by man, and, being in a senee artiflcial, are liable to rearrange- ment, restriction or extension whenever new discoveries, or the adop- tion of new theories of classification, make sach changes seem desirable.
In classifying insects we first gronp them according to their gen- eral stmctare : i. e., arrange them iu their proper Order, Tribe, Family etc., which is ordinarily qaite easy, after which ve proceed to look up tlie more difflonlt matters of genus and species.
The first step, then, is to determine in which Order a giveo speci- men belongs. This can usaally be decided without difBcnlty by an examination of the wings, for in the system of classification moat gen- erally adopted, the Orders — leven in number — are mainly founded upon the character of these conspicuous and important organs, and the names of these Orders are G-reek componnde of which the termination ptera means vnng», while the prefix describes the Icind of wing.
Tbere ia some difference of opinion among writers as to the rela> tive rank of the Orders, but the following arrangement eeema most in harmony with the development of the insects included in each Order, «nd has the sanction of a majority of the best anthorities :
I. HVUENOPTERA. (membrane-wiDsa). bees, Wkspa, anta, eto. II. COLBOTTERA. (abeath- wings), beetles.
III. LBPIDOPTERA. (Boale-wiDgB), butterflies and motha.
IV. DIPTERA {two wlngH), bonae-llles, mosquitoes, gnata, etc V. HEUtPTERA (hair-winga), tme bngs, cicada*, plant Hoe, etc.
Vt. ORTHOPT&RA. (atraigbt-wlDga), fcraBiihoppera, kacy-dlde, crloketa, et«.
VII. NEUROPrERA (DerTe-wlngs), dragoD-fliea, laoe-wlng fllea, etc.
Two of these orders, colbOPTKEA and DtPTERA, were defined According to the type of wing, by the Greek philosopher Aristotle, more than three hundred years before the Christian era. Thus it will be seen that entomology is one of the most ancient of the uatural sciences, although for many centuries it made little or no true progress.
Adopting the idea of Aristotle, Linnaeus (or Linne), a Swedish nat> «raliat, and the most celebrated one of the eighteenth century, pro- posed five additional orders. In his system, however, the okthop- TEK4 were included with the HBUlPrERA, and the seventh order APrsRA was devised to contain all insects which, in their perfect state, lacked wings. Bat as it was long since discovered that wingless spe- -oies and wingless females exist in each of the orders, ft'om which it would be extremely inconvenient to separate them, the order aPTBBA was dropped and its number made good by a very necessary separa- tion of the ORTHOPTERA from the HEMIPTBRA.
OVTLINBS OP BNTOUOLOGT. 175
BeeeDt aatbors bave maltipliAd and rearraDged the orders of in- sects on varions other plans, fonnded in many cases on very obvious nataral distinctions, bnt the arraagement here presented forms a very £ood basis for sabdivision, and meets with oontinaed favor from a majority of our natnralist«.
In science the name of every animal and plant is a doable one : First, the name of the genas to which it belongs, called the generic name ; and second, the name of the species which it represents, called the specific name. These scientific names are nsnally derived from the Oreek and Latin or have their terminations ft'om those langnages.
The names of tribes often refer to the style of that particniar organ in which all the species included in them agree. The names of fomilies are nsnally adapted from that of the leading genns. The generic name may refer to some prominent characteristic of the typical species, or may be entirely fencifnl. It is always a proper nonn and should be written with a capital.
The specific name is sometimes &om some attribute of the species, or from the plant or other substance on which it feeds, sometimes from a resemblance it bears to some other object, and not infrequently from the name of the discoverer or some person whom the describer wishes to compliment. It is either an adjective or a noau in the possessive case, and is now seldom written with a capital, not even when it is de- rived from the name of a person.
It often happens that the same species is described by two or more aathors, and although the name first published is considered to be the correct one, it is not always easy to discover which this ia. To prevent «oafasion, therefore, as well as to give each author credit for hia work, it is customary to add after the name of the insect that of the aathor who bestowed it, thus :. Difnastes titi/rus ot LAoukus, or Papilio asteriat, Cramer. The names of the authors are commonly abbreviated as Linn, for Linnseas, Cram, for Cramer, Fabr. for Fabrioins, etc.
Besides their scientific names, many Insects have common or popular names. For instance, in this country we have the '* Bed Ad- miral " butterfly, the " Devil's riding horse," the " May beetle or June bng," the "Chinch bug," the " Weevil," and many others. Some of these names are known and correctly applied everywhere; others are very local, and in other sections of the country people would not know to what insect they pertained.
Another advantage in the nse of the scientifio name is that it is perfectly intelligible to educated people in all countries, and, when given in accordance with established rules, there is seldom any question
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476 STATE HORTIOULTUBAL SOCIBTY.
08 to the species desif^ated. Wheaever, therefore, exactness is re- quired, the scieotiflo name sboald accompany the popalar one, and life these cases it is eoolosed in parenthesis. For example : The Goldetk Tortoise beetles (Gataida auriehaleea, Fabr).
CHAPTER VIII. Order I. HYMBSOPTERi.
Bald-Aoed HoTnet ( Vetpa macuhOa), ■rter Bllej.
This Order inclndee the Bees, Wasps, Ants, Ichnenmon dies and other four- winged parasites, Gall flies. Saw flies, and a few Wood borers. These are not by any means the largest or most eonspicoons of insecte^ bat they occupy the highest rank on account of their perfection of form and the remarkable intelligence which many of them display. The tbree leading groaps have from time immemoiiat attracted the attention of man by their interesting social relations, their industry, their mectaani- cal skill, and their tender care for their young— in these respects dis- playing a wonderful analogy to the traits and enterprises of the humaa race.
Another reason for giving this Order precedence is that among its members we find the most complete metamorpbosie — the larv» being far more helpless and dependent on the personal care or the most painstaking prevision of the mature insects than is the case of the young of other Orders. In this, also, there is an interesting cor- respondence to man, who in infoucy is utterly incapable of taking caro of himself, far more so than any of the lower animals.
The frame of hymenopterous insects is, in most of the species, very bard and compact, especially on the thorax. The surface is, in some, smooth and polished, and often brilliantly colored ; in others it is densely clothed with short hairs, giving it a resemblance to plush or velvet.
The head is comparatively large, and is attached, vertically, to the thorax by a short, slender neck, upon which it can be freely turned in any direction. The month is provided with apparatus for both bit-
0TTTHNB8 OF ENTOMOLOGY. 477
iDf; and sacking, bat the apper jaws (mandibles), though large and sharply toothed, are bat little ased in mastication, bat serve instead as toolu, of which very skillfal and effective nse is made in varioos me- chanical enterprises. The lover jaws (maxillGe) and lower lips (labii) are greatly changed from the typical form, to adapt them for taking ap liquid noarishment, apoa which the perfect insects mainly subsist. The com- poand eyes cover a considerable portion of the head, and are either round, oblong or kidney-shaped (reniform). Upon the top of the bead three small simple eyes (ocelli) can in most species be plainly seen. Tlie antennte are short and stoot or long and slender (filiform), or liaU-shaped : -t. «., bent in the middle and thickened more or less toward the tips.
The flrst Joint of the thorax (the pro-thorax) is very narrow and «n top crowded down almost or quite out of sight ; bat the second «nd third joints (the meso-tborax and meta-tborax) are large, and to- gether form a compact and nearly globniar division of the body. The legs vary considerably in form in the different groups, bat are usually long and rather slender, and terminate in flve^ointed feet (tarsi). The wings are composed of glassy or mica-like membrane, sapported by a few strong veins. In a majority of the species they are quite narrow, the under pair being smaller than the upper, and during flight are attached to the latter by the row of minnte hooks which may be seen on their upper (costal) edges, which catch into a ridge made for that purpose on the lower (inner) margin of the upper pair. In a great number of species of Hymenoptera the abdomen swells oat In the mid- dle, tapering to a point at the posterior end, and in the opposite direction to a slender joint, of greater or leas length, called the pedicel or petiole, by which it is attached to the thorax. From six to eight Tings or segments only can be distinguished in the abdomen. Each of these appears to be composed of tico plates, an upper and a lower (a dorsal and a ventral), tlie former overlapping the latter on the sides. The tip of the abdomen of the femf^e is always modified into an ovi- po$itor. If this organ is connected with a poison gland and drawn within the body when not in ase, it is called a tting; bat if it is a oon- apicaous appendage and not capable of emitting poison, it is termed a
The larvee of the higher Hymenoptera are, for the most part, soft, desby, footless grabs, con&ned daring the whole of the growing pe- riod to the cells of wax, paper or mud in which they are hatched. Some species subsist upon food stored in their cells at the time the eggs ft-om which they hatch are laid ; others require I.imi M>d imp* of WiBp.
478 STATE HOETIOULTUBAL SOOIBTT.
eects that have them in charge. The larvte of some of the lower &iui- lies in the Order are more independent. The mother insect having placed het egga npon the leaves or in the wood on which her inatinot teaches her her yonng will thrive, the latter are, upon hatching, able to provide for themselves.
When fnll grown most of these larvst spin a thin, oblong, sUken cocoon, within which, after a short reet, the; change to pnpeB. The papae are qniescent and of the obtected form, each leg, wing and an- tenna being enclosed in its own ebeatb, which fits it as neatly as a glove finger fits a finger of the baman hand.
All the members are closely applied to the body and remain immov> able ontil tbe time of the second transformation. As a role, eight or ten days only are passed in tbe papa state. Then the membranous ooveiing splits on tbe top of the thorax, the head, legs and embiyo wings are drawn oat of tbeii coverings, and the insect gnaws open the end of its cocoon and lifts the covering to its cell — oaless tbe latter is opened for it by one of the matare "worker" insects — and after a pe- riod of hardening and general preparation, varying from an honr or two to one or two days, it lifts itself by its strong new wings and sails away into tbe sunshine. The Hymenoptera are mostly diamal insects, and are seldom seen apon the wing, except daring warm, pleasant weather. The primary division of the Order, founded upon pecaliari- ties of etmctnre and habit, is into two sections :
1. Stinging Intectt {A ovlk at a), comprising the Bees, Wasps and Ants.
2. Piercing Intecta (TebebBAHTIa), comprising several fiuui- lles of Parasttio Flies, Oall-flies, Saw-flies and Wood-borere. In the first section the sexes are distiugoisbed by a difference in the number of the joints of the antenuEe and the abdomen — the antennn of the males having thirteen joints and the abdomen tere» apparent segments, while the anteniiEe of the females have but twelve joints and tbe abdomen only itx distiiigaiBhable segments. All the females belonging in this section have the ovipositor (tbe organ by which the eggs are placed) connected with two poison glands ; and whenever this instrament is need as a weapon, a minate portion of tbe acrid fiuid is forced into the woand made by its point and causes a burning and stinging pain.
This poison is need by certain wasps to paralyze other insects and spiders which they collect and store in cells as food for their young. In this case it does not kill, bat prodaces in the victims a state of help- less torpor in which they continue nutil devoured by tbe wasp larra.
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OUTLINES OF ENTOUOLOOT. 479'
The Stingini; Hymenoptera are separated into fonr very distinct tribes :
let. Bees fAnikophUa — flower-lovers).
2d. Trae Wasps fBiploptera — doable>wings).
3d. Wood and Sand Wasps (Fossorea — diggers).
4th. Ants f'ffrterojyna— different females).
Each of these tribes includes several bmilies, the pecnliaritiea of which will be noticed in sacceeding chapters. The Kercing insects composing the second division of the Order are distingaished ohiefl; by the absence of the poison gland. In the higher families the form of the body and the venation of the wings are mnch like those of bees and wasps, the most obvioas difference being the more lengthened ab- domen and the excerted and often conspicnons ovipositor. The more lowly forma of the Piercing species have the abdomen joined to the thorax by a wide base instead of a slender pedicel, the wings are more net-veined, and in their immatnre stages they approach certain groups of the Lepidoptera. The section is subdivided into two comprehen- sive tribes:
1st. Foar-winged Parasites (EntomopKaga — insect-eaters).
2d. Saw-flies and Wood-borers (Fkytophaga — plant- eaters).
The Plant-eaters inolade almost all the insects in the Order that are serioasly injnrioas. All the others are either beneficiiU — some of them in a very high degree — or neutral in their relations to man.
CHAPTER IX. Order HYHSNOPTBRA. Section Acdlbata.
Bees ( Antitophila).
me. W-]
Bonef Bee.
The Bees are very apppropriately termed the " Flower-lovers," since they are, in all stages of their lives, wholly dependent upon the floral pro- docts, nectar and pollen, for their food. And in the economy of natnre this dependence is, to a great extent, mutual ; for while the Bees are seek- ing sustenance for themselves and their yoang from flower to flower, they are at the same time anconsciously assisting the latter to produce good seed as a resnlt of cross- fertilization, the pollen ft'om the stamens of one plant or blossom being carried by them to the pistils of another.
480 8TATB HOETICCLT0BAL SOCIBTT.
Thus ve see that while Beea coald not live without flowers, many flowering plantg wonld Boon cease to exist bnt for the agency of Beea in assisting them to a vigorous development
It is said there are over two thoasand species of bees, the majority
of which are small-sized and plainly-colored insects. They are distin-
gniebed from other Hymenoptera by the stroctnre of the month and
lege, which are pecnliarly adapted for collecting and conveying nectar
and pollen. The month of the Honey Bee, tor example, is quite dilfer-
|Fig. w.i ent from that of other biting insects. To the naked
eye it appears like a bundle of flat, pointed bristles,
bnt when examined ander the microscope these take
the forms represented in Pig. 13. The outer jaws
are large and strong, adapted for use as tools, such
as sciaeors, knives, trowels, and so forth. The inner or
lower jaws (maxillse), of which there are two pairs,
^ cousicit. of long, slender jointed blades, which are
DSed for piercing and probing, while the under Up
(labium) is prolonged into a sort of hairy tongue,
HeadorBes. Very flexible, with which the nectar of flowers is
lapped up, and with the aid of the maxillae drawn back and deposited
in the " honey crop " or proveneulua where, by some myeterions chemi-
-cal process, the crnde nectar is transformed into the delicions snbstance
known as honey. Such proportion of it as ia required by the insect
for food paeses onward through the digestive tubes, while the anrplns
ia regargitat«d into cells and stored for food for itself or the young of
which it has the care. .
When not in use, all these lengthened month parte are drawn close together and bent under the chin.
The nioditlcation of the legs, especially of the hinder pair, is to adapt them to the work of gathering and carrying pollen. The shank <tibia) ia broad and somewhat hollowed out on the inner auriace, and has a rim of stiff hairs, thna forming a sort of basket in which the pollen is piled when it has been gathered by the feet, the basal joints of which are enlarged and otherwise especially adapted for the puf pose, and when alao it has been brushed by the front and middle legs from other parts of the hairy body on which it has accumulated in the repeated divings of the insect into the cup of flowers.
The sting ia a slender tube formed of three blades, which may he protruded from the abdomen, the tip of which has a needle-like point and in some species is barbed. It serves not only aa an ovipositor, but at the will of the insect, aa a weapon, in the latt«r case conveying into the woond made by It a minute portion of an acrid fluid — the pediceled
OUTLIHBa OF BITFOMOLOOT. 481
ftbdora«a enabling the itieect to thrast its sUng with ooDstdeiable force. Tbe poison ia of an acid nature and may be neatralized with an alkali. An important secretion of many bees is the prodaot known as wax. This ie an exudatioa from tbe ander snrfoce of the abdomen, which Prof. Oook describes as "a solid anctaoas BnbBtanoo andis,a« shown by its chemical composition, a fot-like material. • • • It is formed by the aecreting membrane, and there are fonr "wax pockets" on each aide."
[Piff. 11] '^^^ tcoxA legs of honey bees are provided with
an iugenioas contrivance for dressing the anteonie. It is a movable spar at the end of the thigh which closes over a notch io the base of the tibia, the autennffi being drawn through the apertare thas t fonned. Several other fanotions for this contrivauoe . have been suggested.
In coiisideration of a difference in the length of the month parts, the bees are separated into two &milie8 :
Apidje: — long-tongned bees ; and i.-ronti*KrfiioneTB« ANDBENiD.^:— shoH-tongaed bces.
They are farther distingnished, according to their relations with each other, as Social, Solitary and Parasitic or Gudcoo bees.
In this country there are bat two genera of social bees, namely, tbe genas Api», which eout^ns but one species — melifica, the well- known Hive or Honey bee, and the genus Bombut, containing aboat fifty species of the almost equally wcll-knowa Hamble or Bumble bees. All social bees, as well as other insects of the same habit, live to- gether in larger or smaller commnnities, and have a regalar system ot government and labor — a sort of ideal communism — in which no iodi- vidual is independent, bat each performs certain duties for the common good. Among the bees each colony contains three sorts of individuals : one or more perfect females, or queens, which are the mothers of the swarm ; a considerable number of males or drones, only permitted or developed in the hive or nest at certain seasons, and a great namber of BDUtller, imperfect females, most appropriately termed ^^workert," since npon them devolve all the labors of the colony.
The typical species of this group is the Hive bee, celebrated from time immemorial in sacred as well as classic literature, for the delicions and useful products of its industry, honey and wax ; for its intelligence and mechanical skill, and its varions peculiar developments and adapta- tions. Although an introduced species, it is now thoroughly natnral-
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^3 STATE HOBTIOULTUHAL 80CIBTT.
iz«d in thia conntr;, and is often found wild in forests, where it iDhabits hollow trees. It U said, however, that it oever occars &r tcom the habitations of men, which &ct canned the Indians, in earlier times, to call it the " white man's fly." It may be considered, indeed, like the silk- worm, a thoroughly domesticated insect; and though so &miliar to as, the study of its habits has never lost its fascination nor its reward io the discovery of some remarkable attribute or power.
Jbe form of the worker bee, with its compact, hairy body, iU strong wings, its large bnt widely separated eyes, its long proboscis, and its sharp sting — which has the pecnliarity of being barbed, and of causing the death of its user by its loss, if thrust too vigorously into the skin of the offender — is familiar to every one who has ever walked tn field or garden. The queen bee is less frequently seen, even by the earefbl observer, althoagh, where glass hives are used, she can occasional- ly be noticed in her promenades among the brood cells. She has a much longer body than the worker, and her proboscis and the pollen baskets on the binder tibite are not so well developed. But one perfect queen mother is permitted in a hive at one time, and when the colony grows too large for its quarters, the mature queen goes with the migrating swarm, and her place and office in the hive is aesamed by one of the yoang qoeens, of which, in the swarming season, there are always a number at the point of development At this season, too, the males or drones are fonod in the hive in greatest numbers. These are stouter bodied than the worker beeB,aDd have the mouth parts and legs less per- fectly developed, while ihe eyes are larger and almost meet at the top of the head. They are hatched from nnimpregnated eggs laid by an occa- sional fertile worker, or by au nnmated queen, or, most remarkable of all, by a fertile queen, when she chooses to allow an egg to pass through the oviduct without contact with the sperm cells stored, after pturing, in her spermathica. In view of this we leara that the queen bee possesses a power not shared, so far as known, by any other animal, viz.: that of con- trolling the sex of her offspring at will. The queen cells ai'e more than twice the size of those built for the rearing of workers, and are placed here and there on the edges of the brood comb and at right angles to the worker cells. The egg and embryo are of the same nature as those designed to produce workers, and the queens or perfect females result from their more spacious cells and the more nitrogenized food called "royal jelly" on which they are fed. The average life of the queen is ftom two to three years, and iostances are on record of her attaining the age of five years. During the ordinary period of life she lays be- tween one and two millions of eggs. The life of the worker seldom exceeds eight or nine months and that of the drone two or three.
0DTL1NB3 OF BNTOMOLOOT. 483
The period of deTelopment, from the layiDg of the egg until the cap- ping of the cells by the workers, when the larvee are full grown, is said is said to be eight days. Dnriug this time they are regalarly fed and attended by the yoanger workers, on which devolves the office of nnrsee. After the cell is covered the larva spios aronnd itself a very delicate cocooii of silk, witbiD wbich it traasforms to pnpa. The latter has all the members and the form of the mature insect, but all in a very soft state and closely appressed to the body. After a repose of aboat three weeks the young bees emerge, but remmu in the hive for a few days, until the wings and other members are safBciently hardened to be ready for duty. The bive bee is not torpid during winter, although many of its activities are suspended. It appropriates large quantities of honey and generates heat in proportion to the degree of atmospheric cold. On the other' hand, In every hot weather in sammer, the bees, by tbe vibrations of their wings, are able to cool and ventilate their hives.
Next in popular interest to the Honey bee, although they do not contribute direcUy to our luxuries, are the large, clumsy, noisy Hum- ble bees. They are tbe largest insects in their tribe. In color they are black or black i>anded with yellow, and the entire body is densely covered with short, stiff hair. The wings, instead of being transparent, are of a purplish or smoky hue. The tongue aD4 maxillae are longer than those of the Honey bee, bat constructed on the same plan, and the added length enables these insects to extract the nectar from and thus be the means of cross-fertiliztug many flowers — among them the red clover — in which the sweets are inaccessible to tbe former species. The jaws are broad and strong, adapted for dig^ng in the earth. The nesta of the largest species, Bombus pmnsylvanious, De Geer, are asu- ally, if not invariably, made undergroond, sometimes in little caves made for the pnrpose, but often ib the deserted barrows of field mice or similar cavities for tbe sake of economizing labor. Only the queens or fertile females live over winter, and in the spring each one of these founds a separate colony. Her mode of procedure is as follows : After she has selected and prepared her home, she gathers a qaantity of pollen and honey, which she kneads into a mass, and upon which she deposits a number of eggs. From these the larvte hatch in a few days and eat their way into the ball of bee-bread in different directions, growing, meantime, very rapidly. The rude cells thus formed are from time to time strengthened and extended with wax by the mother bee, nntil the larvte are sealed up for transformation. The first brood are all workers, and as they mature the queen relinqaishes her outside labors to them, and devotes herself exclusively to increasing the num- bers of the colony. About the middle of the season drone and queen
484 STATE HORTIODLTUBAL SOCIETY.
cells are bnilt, and apon the emergence of the occapautB the two sexes take their marriage flight together, after which, apon the approach of cold weather, the colony disbands, and all except the perfect femalei soon perish. .The latter seek shelter about buildings, in hollows of trees, and possibly some retom to the nest and remain donuMit tJirongb the winter, reviving when spring retarns to repeat the annual process of founding new colonies and reproducing the species.
The Humble bees are for less skillful and exact in their mechani- cal efforts than the Honey bee. The cells are oval instead of hexago- nal, and very irregolarly placed, and honey and brood-comb are inter- mixed without much order. The honey is very sweet, but somewhat rank-flavored, and in many persons produces headache, while the wax is dark, coaise-gr^ned and dongby.
The economy of the Solitary bees, belonging in the fitmiiy Apid£ is quite different from that of the social species. Bach i>air, or more properly each female, bnilde and provisions a separate nest, which con- sists of from a half-dozen to a great number of cells. A qoantity of food, prepared mainly from pollen, is stored in each cell, in which a single egg is also deposited. The cell is then closed and the mother insect takes no farther care for her young.
The most Interesting and conspicuous of the Boliary species are the Carpenter, the Mason, the Upholsterer and the Leaf-cutter bees.
The Carpenter bees (genus XyloeopaJ contain a few species which rival the Humble bee in size, and in many other respects closely re- semble them. They may, however, be distinguished from the latter at a glance by the smooth top of the abdomen, which is entirely of a glossy black. Upon closer examination, the jaws ( mandibles ) are found to be very powerful and sharply toothed. The basal joint of the hind feet is very long and clothed* with long stiff hairs, appearing much like a bottle brush.
These bees bore holes in solid, bat not growing, wood, being often found at work in the cornices of houses and other baildings, in which they make tanuets a foot or more in length. The entrance, for the depth of an inch or more, is cut direct across the grain of the wood, but the tunnel proper is at right angles to this, with the grain of the wood. In this, numerous cells are partitioned off, the walls being boilt ftt>m the chips or raspings, cemented with a stioky fluid trom the month of the little artisan. Beginning at the end farthest ^m the entrance, each cell is finished, provided with a quantity of the nanal bee food, and the egg laid, before the partition wall is pot up. It fol- lows that there is a considerable interval of time between the com-
v^n_n_'Vli>
OTTTLIHBS OF BNTOMOLOGT. 48fi
pletion of the first aod last cells, and whether the first laid eggs are last to batch, or irhether, opoo dCTelopment, the young bees in the more remote celle, reiQaia qniet antil those nearest the entrance open open a passage-way, has not been asoertained ; bat at all eventa, they do not emerge nntil their yonoger brothers and sisters have passed oat before them.
The Mason bees (genas OtmiaJ are a gro6p of small, handsome bees of a metallic bluish or green color. They derive their name ttom their habit of asing clay, or a pecalifu* mortar which they prepare f^m fine gravel, in the constrootioa of their varionsly shaped cells. These may often be foand plastered against the sides of bnildings, npon the branches of trees, and sometimes even npon leaves, or vithin oak-galla, separately, or in small gronps. They are rongh on the oatside bat smooth and polished vithin. A few species belonging to this genas are said to excavate tnnnels in sofi or decayed wood in which to pro- tect their cells. Dr. Biley says of Anthopora sponaa, an allied species, that It ^'bailds mostly in steeply inclined or perpendicalar clay-banks, and, in addition, ext«nds a tube of clay from the entrance. The bur- row has Dsaally two branches, which decline aboat an inch from the snrfaoe of the bank, and (in them) six or eight cells are arranged end to end. By means of saliva the inside of the cell is rendered impervloas t« the moistnre of the honey and bee-bread stored iu it for the yonog."
The Upholsterer bees (getau Oeratina) resemble the Mason bees in form and color. They bnild their nests on a plan very similar to that of the Carpenter bees, bot instead of boring into solid wooi they se- lect that which is soft from decay, or confine themselves to the pithy stems of enoh shrabs as the elder or blackberry, or the stalks of the more robust weeds. The walla of the cells twe lined and the partitions made of a delicate silken web — the "apholstery" from which they derive their popnlar name.
The Leaf-cntter or Taylor bees (ge»xt» MegaohileJ, also in moat instances excavate the pithy stems of shrnbs in which to bnild their nests. In other cases they select toagh leaves, which they contrive to roll into cylinders and fasten firmly for the protection of the cells. Within these tannels tbey prepare a number of cells, forming the partitions and covering the walls with sections of delicate leaves or of the petals of dowers. One species, M. centuncularii, ia a serious pest to the flower garden, alwaya, with rare good taste, selecting the most delicately colored of the roses, geraniums end other choice fiow- ers for her curtains and coverlets. This is a rather stout, short-bodied bee of a dull black color, banded with yellowish gray. The head Is broad and the Bcissors-like jaws are very strong, and the swiftness
«6 STATE HOSTIOULTUKAX BOOIETT.
Tith whiob they cut out tbe cixcalar piecea of leaf or petal is something astoDlshing. The cella are over half an iooh in length, nine or ten in a row, placed end to end. Ae, in the latitude of St. Loois, these bees may be seen at work from May nntil Heptembet, there are donbtleaa several broods in a aeason.
Bees belonging in the family Andratida are distinguished by hav- ing the tongne short and rather broad, and the most cbaracteristio genas fAndreiytJ can be recognized by a lock of long curled hair on each trocanter. The colors are dark, banded with dnll red. This fam- ily of bees includes a large namber of small, prettily colored insects which make their nests in tnnnels excavated horizontally in banks or perpendicniarly in level groand. The tunnels commonly consist of a straight gallery into which the separate cella open on all sides.
Many species of both Apidce and AndrenidcB are sorely annoyed by Parasitic or Oackoo bees. These bnild no nests for themselves, but when one of them diacorers a Carpenter or Mason or other bee »t work, she constantly hovers about the spot, and as fast as the cells are completed sb6 slips in and deposits her eggs, always choosing her time when the builder is absent. The larvee from these egga uaually kill the rightfal tenants of the cells, or the latter perish from starvation be- cause the intruder has devomed the lion's share of the food. A few of theCnckoo bees are rather guests than paraaitea, living very ami- cably with their hosts, on whose bounty their young are reared. This is the case especially with those that choose their homes with the so- cial species. A certain large species of Apathut is said to live in this way in the nests of Humble bees, and the mature insects, wbiob are simiUr in appearance, are often seen together, harmoniously sipping nectar f^m adjoining flowers.
The habits of all wild beea are extremely interesting subjects for study, and have not by any means been thoroughly investigated.
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ODTLINE8 OF ENTOMOLOGY.
CHAPTEE X.
Order hyiienoptera. Section Aouleata.
TBUB WA8PS AND DIOGBB WASPS. [riK. 18]
Digger- WUp. tUgv* tpuionu.
The Tme wasps are termed DIPLOPrERA (doable vings), becaaae vhea uot flying tbe npper wings are always longitadinall; folded. This DiaDner of carrying the wings is the most obvioas stractoral distinction between this gronp and tbe Fossorial or Digging wasps. In this tribe of insects the body wall, or external envelope, is harder, and, aa a rule, smoother, than that of bees, although some species have parts of the body clothed with a velvety pubescence. The neck is very short and the bead wide at the top, giving a somewhat triangnlar shape to the face. Tbe jaws are broad and strong, with sharp teeth, while the inner jaws and tongne, though shorter than those of bees, are not so flexible, still admit of tbe extraction of nectar from the more open flower cups. Both pairs of palpi are well developed, and on each side of tbe tongne is a similar supplementary organ called a parraglogsa.
The eyes are large and hollowed oat in the middle (see Fig 2, pt. 1st), and the ocelli are unusually prominent. The legs are mostly smooth and cylindrical, bat tbe shanks are provided with long, thorn- like spurs, and the joints of the feet are also spiny. The females have a formidable sting, but the males, as with nearly all other insects, are unarmed.
The larviB are mnch like those of bees, except that tUey are some- what larger on the auterior end. Tbey are reared in cells of paper or mnd, for wasps are incapable of excreting wax, and are fed mainly ou animal food — such as the soft bodies of flies, larvie, bits of fresh meat and the like — few, if any, being fed on the honey and pollen that form the sole nourishment of tbe matare insects.
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488 BTATX HOBTIOTILl^VIUL SOOIBTT.
like the bees, this ttibe of vaeps faas its eocial and its solitary species.
Ihe best representative of the former Is tbe Bald-faced HoFDet ( Vetpa maoviatay Linn.,) an inseot vith whose large gray paper nests — often eight or ten inches in diameter — and whose fierce sting every Bchool-boy is familiar. The habits of this species are much like those of the Hamble bees. Tbe perfect females, only, hibernate, and when the spring is well advuiced each one forms a few cells, mainly from a glutinous secretion from tbe month, but apparently mingled with a little woody fiber. These are attached by a slender pedicel, with the opening downward, to a branch of some low tree or similar and secluded snpport. The eggs are glued into the cells, and the young larvn, with heads down, are at first fastened in the same manner, bat as they grow the swelling of the seements next the head serves to keep them in position.
These first larva speedily develop iuto workers and release the queen from her labors. The tier of cells Is added to on all sides, and over it is built an nmbrella-like roof, the materials being mainly fibers of weather-beaten wood, collected from old fences and nnpainted build- ings. This is masticated and mingled with the fiuids &om the mouth, and when thinly spread dries into a strong water-proof paper.
As the season advances and workers increase, successive tiers of cells are bnilt, attached by strong silken pillars to those above, with gal- leries between, through which the wasps can easily move when caring for the young. The outer envelope too is enlarged and brought down at the sides, and finally made to completely enclose the nest Late in snmmer a brood of perfect males and females is produced, and upon the approach of cold weather the ingenioos little home is deserted, the mature insects, it is said, first stinging to death any larvae or pupie that remain, dragging them ruthlessly from their cells and casting them to the ground.
Some species of the genns Vespa — for example, the smaller and more brightly colored " Yellow Jackets " — have their homes, like the Humble bees, nndergroaud.
The nests of the species belonging to the genns PolUtet consist of a single tier of from ten to twenty or thirty cells, bnilt in some shel- tered situation and without any external enclosing wall. Tbe species ate more slender in form than tbe hornets, and are mostly of rust-red or brown colors. From their habit of attaching their clusters of open, gray paper cells under tbe cornices or window sills of our dwellings,
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OUTUNfilS OF BHTOHOLOGT. iS9
and from the familiarity with which the; enter our roomB, especially in the aatamn when the coloDiea are disbaading, scarcely any one can foil to have moie or less knowledge of their appearance and habits.
Ibe few BOlitary species belonging to the group of "Double-wings" differ more in habit than in strtio- ? tore from the social species. Ko so-called " neuters" or workers exist among them. Each mother waep builds her own series of cells, stores each with the requi- site amoant of food, oarefolly
PotMr wup— •fWrElley. Colon blank and yel- „i„„_„ i,„_ _„„ __ ,v- „tj. -* (U_
low, o,ei»TeOT«ru>o«U(*,i«rv«-,«,w».p placOB her egg on the side of the
cell, seals it up and leaves the larva to develop withont any material supervision or care.
Among the most interesting of these is a small species, of a black color, banded and ornamented with pale yellow, which has a great par- tiality for building its mud cells (for these solitary species do not make paper, bat are all masons) in key-boles and crevices indoors. On one occasion which came under my observation, one of these wasps took possession of some spools of thread standing on the sUl of an open window, and built her cells in the apiudle boles, as flgnred above. As fost as one spool was filled another was supplied, and in the course of three days nine spools, averaging three cells to a spool, had been oom- pleted. The food stored consisted of various small caterpillars, inclnd- ing several larvEB of the Codling moth, which bad been stung with snf- ftcient severity to produce paralysis bnt not death,
The cells were scarcely more than half an Inch in depth, bat into this small space six or seven or more larves would be crowded, packed with a deftness that was impossible of imitation by human fingers. The wasp Isrvee developed rapidly, the young wasps appearing in less than two weeks.
The Digging wasps (tribe FoasoRBs) contaiu the largest and most beautiful insects in the Order. (See Fig. 16.) Host of the species are easily distinguished from the Trne wasps by their spiny legs, their oval or roundish eyes, and especially by the wings not being folded in repose. All the species are solitary in their habits, and as a matter of coarse only males and perfect females are developed. A few of the species bore holes in dry or decayed wood, or excavate the stems of pithy plants, in which to construct their cells, while others, like the Mud-dauber fPelopieviJ, build a cluster of pipe-like cells plastered against a beam in some shed or oat-bailding. The great majority, how-
490 STA.TB HDRTIOTJLTUBAL SOOIBTT.
ever, barrow into tbe earth, eepeciall? in Band? nr Kravelly Bitoations, looseniiig the soil with their Btrong jaws aud scrabbling it ont with incredible rapidity with their spiny legs.
A separate hole is dng, six or seven or more inches deep, for each egg, at the bottom of which the latter is Ifud, after the nest has been proTisioned with one large or several smaller insects or spiders rednced to torpor by the poieoned lance of the wasp. The shaft is then filled ap, the earth smoothed over, and even bits of gravel so placed as to completely obliterate all trace of the excavation.
The Wood wasps (famUy Obabbonida], which bore into wood, feed their larvK on plant lice, a great uamber of these tiny iDseets being required to provision a«ingle cell. Species of the genus AmmopMUa — eaaUy recognized by the veiy spiny legs and the long, slender pedicel gradnally widening backward into the rather small abdomen — provide each nest with bnt one large caterpillar.
The eleguit wasp known as the "Handsome Digger" fStieut speeio- ntt, Dmry), represented in Fig. 15, a very large species of a black color gaUy banded and otherwise marked with yellow, provisions its nest with harvest flies (Oicadas), making nse of the seventeen-year species when they appear, as well as of the annual "dmmuierB." A still larger species fPompilu$ formosut, Say), of a dark bine color, common in the Bonthwestem States, is called the "Tarantula- killer," because it makes the large and venemons Tarantula, the most formidable of our spiders, its especial prey. The Digger wasps are a great terror to the inseota upon which they prey, the latter seeming to recognize them instinct- ively as enemies from which there is no escape. Observers have no- ticed that even the Tarantola above mentioned, large and savage as it is, is seized with a violent tremor and appears to lose all courage aa soon as it finds itself pnrsned by the fierce PompHua.
. A small black wasp belonging in the genus Tiphia, common in the north and west, is distingaished as one of the few insect enemies of the destractive White grab, its tough, brown, silken cocoons being freqaently turned out by the plow in the spring &om meadows and com land.
All wasps, whether social or solitary, may be coneidered among beneficial species, for although the perfect insects feed only on honey and pollen, yet in providing for their young they destroy vast numbers of leaf and fruitr feeding larvte as well as varions grasshoppers, cicadas and flies. In preparing these insects to nourish their young the attend- ing wasps of the social species thoroogbly masticate and partly digest them before they regurgitate the pulp into the open mouths of the larvte. The Solitary species, as we have seen, have a provision for
OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY. 491
readeriog the insects upon vhich tbeir yon^g are to feed helpless to escape or reeiet, and yet not fotally iDJnred so that Ihey vonld spoil before beiDR required for food.
OHAPTEE XI. Order HYMBNOPrKEA. Section ACULBATA. ANTS.
[Pig- "-]
Worker Ant. Fermiea.
AU tbe typical ante (composing tbe tribe HBTSSBoaTNA) are social insects which rank next to and iu some respects exceed the bees in their manifesbktions o* inj^enaity and intelligence.
A colony — termed.a fomtioarium — as in the ease of other social in- sects, always contains three and occasionally four distinct forms, males, females, workers, and sometimes soldiers or some other distinct class. The maleB and females at a certain period in their development acqoire wings and aiise from the nest. After sporting together for a time in tbe open air tbe females return to the nest or perhaps originate new col- onies, and direst themselves of their wings, as these appendages in the retired life they henceforth lead, woald be not only nseless but cnmber- some. The male ants, which are mnch smaller than the females, hav- ing once left the nest never return to it, and are- nsiially short-lived. The workers and soldiers, which are imperfectly developed females, never acquire wings, and difFer from the perfect individuals in having the Joints of the thorax less compactly naited, and the basal and some- times the succeeding joint of the abdomen formed on top, into a sort of scale or node. The head is generally more or less triangular, the anten- nte are long and elbowed, and seem to be the organs of communication
492 STATS HOBTIODLIDBAL BOOIETY.
between the indiTidaals of a colony. The jaws are stroog and aharply notched, except in the elave-makiag species, in which they become almost nseless as tools.
Some species are armed with astitig,and all secrete a peculiar acid, called /urmio actd, which has very characteristic properties, aod pro- daces a slight barning sensation upon the skin. This acid is atti^ctive to certain insects which penetrate to the ants' nests to obtain it from their bodies. It is thought to have medicinal qoalities, and in Switzer- land a highly prized vinegar is made from it by boiling the ineects in water. It is said that the Inmbermen in oar northern forests, in the event of a tailare of their froit sapply, ase these acid insects as a snb- stitnle.
Ants baild their formicariet in varloas ways, according to their species. Some erect conical dwellings above groaod from mortar of clay or sand ; others, inclnding a majority of the species, borrow into the earth; whUe others still inhabit hollow trees or excavate decayed stomps and logs. The nests are marvels of mechanical art, contfuning store-rooms, nurseries, galleries and other compartments, and are some- times several stories in height, each story being supported upon pillars, arches and cross-beams.
Kot only are these little creatores skillfal artisans, bat they seem to have qaite complex social and governmental systems. When about to make war on a neighboring colony, 'they sally forth in regular col- amns, and appear to have a corps of oflScers who take turns in direct- ing the movements. Several species of red and yellow ants capture and enslave various black species. The slaves are obtained by making war on the "negro ants;" and after the victory which they gain in a majority of the battles, they carry off the popae of the vanquished colony and rear them in their own nurseries. When the captives are mature, they do not attempt to escape, bat seem entirely willing to proeare food for their owners and to serve them in any capacity re- qnired.
The larvte of ants are short, white cylindrical grubs, with small heads which are bent forward. These larvie receive the most aseidnons care from the workers. They are daily carried aboat to those parts of the nest where the temperatare will best promote their growth. When the weather is pleasant, they are brought in the morning to the upper apartments, that they may receive the benefit of the sun's rays, and at evening they are again removed to the lower chambers where there is less exposure and more warmth. The food with which they are sup- plied must first be chewed and submitted to a process of partial diges- tion by the nurses before it is fed to them, and in all other ways they are the objects of the tenderest interest and attention.
OUTLINES OB BNTOMOLOQT. 493
In case of an accident to tbe nest, the safety of the laivsts and papse BeemB to be the first consideration, and the workers may be seen running hither and thither in great dietresB with their delicate white charges in their jaws, and which they will sacrifice their lives in the effort to protect.
Ants feed upon a variety of animal and vegetable substances, and while very fond of sweets, are not, like bees and wasps, restricted in their matnre state, to a diet of pollen and nectar. Some species are qaite valuable as scavengers, rapidly disposing of carrion.
A very good way of obtaining a perfectly clean skeleton of a bird or other small animal ia to place it near a lartre ants' nest. Every par- ticle of flesh will soon be removed in the neatest manner. There are no species injnrions to vegetation north of Florida, bat in that State a certain species fSolonoptU Zyloni, McC] is s^d by Mr. Henry Habbard to " serioasly injure the orange by gnawing away the bark and causing an exudation of gam which seems, at certain seasons of the year, to become one of its principal sonrces of food supply." In other sections of the South this species makes reparation for such injuries by its attacks on the cotton-worm, of which there is do room to donbt that it kills great nambers.
The Leaf cutters are mainly Mexican and South American species, and are often very destructive to the foliage of the orange and other valuable trees. Among these appears the singular form of workers, distingoished as *' soldiers," with enormonsly ItH-ge heads and other peculiar adaptations, llhese are the protectors of the nest in time of danger, and take no part in other labors. Dr. McCook has also de- scribed most entertainingly the habits of the Agricultoral ant, which clears the ground aronnd its nest, sows it to a sort of grass which it in due time harvests, storing the seeds in its nest. In Texas and Mexioo also occurs another very interesting species whose habits were investigated and published by the same gentleman, viz., the Honey ant. In the formicaries of this species, certain workers have the power of secreting boney from their food. This collects in the abdomen until the latter becomes enormously enlarged and the insect is incapable of dragging the heavy weight, and has to be fed by the lees distended workers. This honey is not disgorged into cells, bnt is taken direct from the insect by the other inmates of the nest, and when the secretjon ia entirely exhausted the creature perishes.
Instead depending on members of their own colony for their sweets, some of our indigenous apeciea domesticate in their nests cer- tain root-feeding plant lice f Aphides J, which have been called the "ants' cows," because of the sweet fluid which they yield fh>m their nectar tabes when caressed by the ant's antennie. Indeed, all these nectar-
404 STATE HOBTIOULTCBAL SOCtBTY.
yielding apbldB are great favoriteB with tlie ants, which take varioiiB mesanrea for their protection, even when they cannot transport them to their neste.
The great minority of oar ants belong in the genns Formica. Iheee have no sting, bat wUI sometimeB bite severely if they hare access to the tender skin. They have bnt one node between the pedicel aod ab- domen. Onr largest species is Formiea penruylvaniea,wiiicb is black, and three-fifUiB of an inch long. It is a wood-borer and mHy often be foand in hollow trees and deoajing stamps. ^rmic(i«att^Jiwa,amediam-siEed red species, is the most common slave, making ant.
A.nts belonging to the genas Myrmiea are mostly small, bright-colored species, with two nodes or scales between the abdo- men proper and the thorax. One of the species, Myrmica tnoletta, Say, is the small "red ant," often so tronblesome to hoase-
it lUynMca), grutly enlarged, keepers.
CHAPTER XII. Order HYMENOPTEaA. Section Tebbbkantia.
PABABITB8 AND OALL-FLIBS. [Klg. le 1
telDeamoD Fl; (sltez Bllttj).
This division of tlie arUENOPTEBAinolDdesboth the species that are of most service to man, and those that are most directly injoiions. They are grouped in the same section becaise in all, the ovipositor is a piercer, adapted for penetrating either hard or soft snbstanoes. It is
OUTLINBS OP BNTOMOLOGT. 496
usually a conepionons appendage of the abdomen, and is of a Tariety of singnlar forme, bat is not eouneoted with any poison gland, and wliile that of some species may infltota sharp prick, it is id no case a trae eting.
Among the Pieboebs are foand those species that vary most from what is considered the type of the Order, many of which, in points of their general stractare, and in the forms of their larvie, seem to be closely allied to the Leptdoptera.
The Piercers (TEBEBBANTlA)are very coaveniently separated intotvro tribes :
1. Insect eaters ( Entomophaga ), Parasitic files, and also Gall- flies, and a very few other vegetable feeders.
2. PJant eaters (Phytophaqa), Saw-fiies and Wood-borers The first tribe includes a vast nnmber of species, some with bodies, includ- ing the ovipositor, two inches or more in length, others so minnte that their different parta can only be distingnisbed with a lens, the office of all of which seems to be to keep in check those members of its class which prey upon vegetation, and which, but for them, wonld multiply to sach an extent as to threaten extinction to many of onr most vain- able food plants.
The Parasitic species may be readily separated into three &milies, lOHNEUHONLD^, PBOOTOTBYPiD^ and Ghaloidid^. Some anthors separate varions species from these groups, for which they define sev- eral more families, bat those mentioned include all the more important species.
Among the members of the first-named &mily may be found some very large species, a great nnmber that are of mediam size — with a wing expanse of from one-third to one-halC ineh — and some that are extremely smtUl. The typical Jchnvumon flies have long and rather slender bodies, usually terminated by an exeerted ovipositor, which is composed of several thread-like stylets, and which varies in length from three or four inobes in Thaleiia, to a scarcely noticeable point at the tip of the abdomen, as in Microgaiter.
The head is somewh&t square, the antenufe thread-like and many- jointed ; both pairs of palpi are well developed, but the biting organs are rather small and weak. Tbe thorax is compact, bat the different parts are often outlined by deep grooves. The veining of the wings is mach like that in bees and wasps, but the membrane is more delicate and transparent. The legs are smooth and cylindrical. These insects lay their eggs in or upon the bodies of other insects, usually caterpillars, piercing the skins with their sharply pointed ovipositors. Sometimes bat a single egg is laid; in other cases the dorsal snr&ce is thickly
ugle
496 BTATB BOWriCm.TVKkl. SOOIETT.
panctared aad a great nnmber of the little gmb-ltke larv» hatch and bniTow back and forth iu the &tty tiaaae of their Tiotim, avoiding at first its vital parts ; and when it is fatally injared, though perhaps it [Fig. 9D.1 does not die for aeveral days, they emerge in an
erect position and cover the liaek of the eater- pillar with their small white eoooona attached 8phinii»iT»i«ure»NN)M^ *t *^* lower end and standing np like grains of
p.™ita.(tfMTmieT). Color, ^^^ ^,j ^^^ ^^^ jj^^^j ^^j ^jj^ j^^^j. gpecjgg
weave their cocoons inside the body of their victim. The ioternal parasitic larvee are siud to breathe throagh hranckia similar to thoBe of water insectB, which are sitnated at one end of the body and commsni- cate with the air tabea of the insect they infest.
The large species represented in Fig. 19 is Opihon Macrurum, Linn, The abdomen broadens toward the tip and is compressed Jaterally. The entire body and wing- veins are of a honey-yellow color. It qnite frequently enters oar lighted rooms on summer nights, and if taken into the band will administer so sharp a thrast with its ovipositor that the captor involnntarily releases it. It is parasitic on tbe hu-ge cater- pillars belonging to the family of onr native sitk worms.
The Pboctbotbypida is a family of exceedingly small flies, most of which are " Egg parasites." Their bodies are rather slender and the wings almost without yelns, but in some species are fringed with fine hairs aronnd the edges. They breed, as a rnle, in the eggs of larger Insects, oi which they destroy great numbers. The family of the OHAI.OIDID.S is also composed mainly of very small species, some of which also breed in eggs, bnt nsnally in the bodies ot other insects, especially in those of Aphides. They are often of beantifhl metalUo colors. Tbe antenoe are elbowed and have from six to fonrteen joints. A considerable nnmber have the thighs of the hinder legs veiy mneh thickened for Jumping. The wings have very few veins and no enclosed cells. In the mole the abdomen is aeven-joimed, while in tbe female it has only six joints. Except in a very few species tbe ovi- positor is entirely withdrawn into the body except when in use. They are not infrequently pai-asitic upon other parasites, and, therefore, to be reck - oned among injnrioufi species. In this group, also, we And the de- structive "Joint-worm flies" (Jioaoma hordii Har. tritici and J. grander Biley), which puncture the stalks of small grain at the joints in de- positing their eggB, the larvse afterward feeding upon the sap, and where they are numerous, preventing the growth of the stalk and the filling of tbe head. Mr. F. H. Webster of Indiana made the discovery that many of the females of I. grande were wingless. As moat of these insects hibernate in the straw, burning the latter after threshing and
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_JV|l.
0UTLINB8 OP BHTOMOLOGT. 497
also baming the atabble is the beet preventiTe of their increaae. This fly differs very slightly in stractare from the paraBitic species.
One finnily included ia this groap — the Oynipidal — while resem* bliog the Chalcide very closely in strnctore, are vegetable feeders, cansing on Oak, Bose and other woody plants, the singnlar fmit-like and nnt-like growths called " gfdla." The females differ ft-om the para- sitic Ohaloidid^ in their larger size, and in the shorter- and more compressed abdomen and in the notch on the nnder side of the latter. The antennae, also, are straight and slender, with the joints all equal.
The abnormal plant growth ia sapposed to be caaaed by the depo- sition of a minute qaantity of a pecniiar fiaid, along with the egg, by the parent fly, the tissae reenlting forming a more suitable kind of food for the larvxe than ordinary wood fiber or leaves. The gall makers are all more or less injarions to the plants they attack, bnt one species makes a sort of reparation in producing on a European oak the '* not galls," used in the manufacture of the best ink.
CHAPTER XIII.
Order HYMENOPTERA. Section Tbbkbbantia.
SAW-FLIBS AND HOBN TAILS.
NitlTe CamDt S*ir-fl;.
reen uul blank : (b) black am -worm— PrrtfoplWra trvtular
The insects of this Order, included among the true Plaut'eaters (Peytophaga), differ very mnch in all stages of their development from those described in preceding chapters.
The perfect insects have rather heavy bodies, upon which the three principal divisions are not so distinct as in bees, wasps and ichnea-
H B— 32
Digitize, by Google
498 8TA1B HOETIOULTUEII. BOOIETT.
moDB. Tbe head ia broad, connected with the thorax by a very short neck, and the abdomea is lettile: i. e., joins the thorax by a wide base instead of a slender stalk.
The larvie are mach more independent than those of tbe higher &mUiee of the Order. They are not conflned to cells or chambers, and the only provision made for them by the parent insect is the insertion of her eggs in the kind of leaves or wood which her yoang reqnire for food. They subsist entirely upon vegetation, and are separated into two fitmilies :
1st. Saw-flies (TBHTHEBDINIDiB), and
2d. Horn-tails or Wood-borers (Ubocebid^).
The Saw-flies are easily lecognized by their broad, thin wings, which are divided into nnmeroas cells by fine veins or nervnres, and by the soft and yielding Integnment of the body. The antenna are aeoally short and simple, varying in the females in the number of joints. A few species have these organs knobbed at the tip or toothed or feathered on one edge. The ovipositor, from the pecnliar stmctnre of which these insects derive their popahir name, consists of two saw- like blades, the sides of which are ridged and the lower edges finely serrated or notched. The blades are strengthened by a back ao grooved that they can slide back and forth npon it. When not in nse they are protected by a sheath and concealed in an opening on tbe auder side of the abdomen. With this most ingenions instrament the insect saws little oblique slits in the cnticle of leaves or in the principal veins, in which she places her eggs. There are some exceptions to this rnle, found ambug species that are very prolific and destructive : e. g^ the Imported Cnrrant-worm, in which the eggs are attached externally to the veins of the leaf and kept in place by a sticky fluid which isexaded with them. In such species the ovipositor is found to have lost, in great measure, its saw-like character. The Saw-flies are slow and heavy in flight, sluggish in all their motions and easily captured.
The larvae are called "slugs" and "false caterpillars,'' and are classed with the most destructive of insect pests. The Imported and the Kative Currant-worms, the Bose sing, the Fear slag, the White Pine and the Larch &Ise caterpillars are some of the most pernicious species. They are of elongate, worm-like form, with large, roundish, glossy heads, on some of which are seen a pair of antennie-like pro- cesses. The thoracic legs are well developed, and the binder end of the body is supported npon six to eight pairs of fleshy points or props, which differ from tbe pro-legs of genuine caterpillars, not only in their greater number, but in lacking the little circle of hooks by which the latter can so firmly attach themselves to any snr&ce. In some of thesa
OtTTUNBS OF ESTOMOLOGT. 499
larvfe tbd snrbce ie smooth aod gloBsy, in others apioy or mossy or cov- ered with a slimy exQdation, while others excrete a powdery or cottony sabstance that gives them a very pecaliar appearance.
Some Bpecies, sncb as the White-pine worm, have tlie habit of ele* vating the head and tail when at rest, others keep the body coiled when not feeding, while a few constrnct leafy cases which they carry aboot with them or to which they retire for repose.
A few species are gregarions, feeding in large companies or spin- ning large gammy webs iu which they elDster in masses. When fall grown many of these larvie drop to the ground and form tongh oval cocoons among the fallen leaves and rnbbish, or they barrow into the earth and enclose themselves in cells thinly lined with silk. Uost spe- cies hibernate in the larva state, wltbont changing to papse until the following spring.
The family of the Horn-tails (Cboobbid^) contains comparatively few species. They are mostly large insects with stout cylindrical bodies, characterized by a long straight bom extending from the abdomen. In the males this appendage is at the tip, but in the females it arises from the middle of the onderside of the abdomen and consti- tutes the ovipositor. It is more anger-like than saw-like in its form and use, and is used for boring into the tmnks of trees, especially the elm and pear, to which the boring larvee are often very destructive.
The wings are narrow but strong, expanding more than two jnches, and in flight making a loud buzzing sound. Tbe length of the body inclading the horn is also more than two inches.
The species known as the Pigeon Tremez (Tremex oolumfta, Linn.) ia one of the most injurious. Its multiplication is, however, very maoh checked by a large ichneumon fly which rnns its long ovipositor into the anger-holes of the Tremex, leaving iu each one an egg, from which hatches a deadly enemy and devourer of the first Horn-tail larva which it meets.
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STATE HOBTIOTILTtlBAL 80C1BTY.
CHAPTER XIV. Order II. coleoptkra.
[Fig. M-l
This Order of insects — the Beetles — iDcIndes a for greater nnmber of described species — more than one hundred thoasand — than either of the other primary groups. And while among this vast assemblage we find an almost infinite variety in size, form, color and the adaptation of certain organs for certain fnnctions, a single glance is sufficient to enable us to recognize a member of the Order, except, perhaps, in the case of a very few rare and unnsnal forms.
On account of the ease with which specimens may be collected and preserved, and the accuracy with which the external structure may be defined, these insects have always been favorites with entomologists^ and the student will find them most interesting and coQveuient snbjectft npon which to begin his studies of insect anatomy.
The popular term " beetle " is said to be derived from an old Eng- lish word signif^ng a "biter," and is most appropriate for this gronp' of insects in which the organs for biting are so complex and so perfect.
Beetles are chiefly characterized by the peculiar structure of the upper wings, which are transformed into a pair of horny or leathery cases, or sheaths meeting in a straight line down the back, and covering not only the abdomen, but two joints of the thorax (the tnezo and meta thorax). These are called the elytra (sing, elytron). They are not used to any extent in flight — their office appearing to be mainly that of armor for the protection of the softer parts of the body. The true membran- ous wings, when not in use, are snugly folded beneath them, not only- lengthwise, in fan-like plaits, but, by means of a hinge or joint in the supporting veins, a little beyond the middle, crosswise as well, so that
OUTLIKBS OF EHTOMOLOaY. SOL
ID moat species they msy be completely covered. This wlDg atractare can be moat aatisfeotorily atadied in the common May beetle, one of the speciea vhich fev people have any repngnance in handling.
The frame- work or body- vail of moat beetlea ia very hard and firm compared to that of many other inBecte. Thia ia very neceaaary to pre- aerve them from the varied daDgera incident to their terrestrial habita.
The month of beetles is coDaidered as preaenting the typical form of that important organ. The six principal parts, mandibles, mazillas, labrnm and labium, described in chapter III, Pt let (in which see Fig. 3], are always present, together with other appendages of less direct nse.
The eyes are nsoally prominent and of variona forms, round, oblong, kidney-ahaped, curved, and in one group of water beetles entirely divided in the middle, so that there wonld seem to be two on each side. The ocelli are not asnally present, though a few species have a single pair, or perhaps only one.
The antennsB present a great variety of forma, some of which are very singular and beautiful, as may be seen by referring to Fig. i, Pt. lat. They are mostly eleven-jointed. Only the pro-thorax, which ia uaaally very wide, is visible on the back, with the exception of a small wedge-shaped section of the meao-thorax, termed the sentellum. The abdomen Joins the thorax by a wide base, and, in a great majority of beetles. Is almost, if not eotirely covered by the wing cases. Many of the leaf-feeding species and a few of those that are predaeeons, fly with great ease and rapidity, but as a rule, the legs are the principal organs of locomotion. They are horny and strong, and of varions shapes to adapt them for running, leaping, swimming and other nses. The ap- parent jotuta of the feet vary in number from MrM to five, and the foot terminates in most cases in a pair of sharp claws.
The larvEB ot beetles are commonly called "grubs.'' Most of these are soft, clumsy looking objects, with horny heads and three pairs of sprawling legs on the thoracic segments. Some speciea have in addi- tion a sort of pro-leg at the hinder end of the body, or one or two rows of tubercles (fleaby points) along the sides, or on the apper or under flurfooe, by which they are enabled to move with ease in the situations in which they are found. The tarvse of Water-beetles have numerous oar-like processes along the sides and are capable of swimming very rapidly.
Besides these forms are others which, living enclosed in the fruit or wood upon which they feed, have no use for legs of any kind, and conse- quently do not possess them. Of such are the Ouroulios and many hinds of wood-borers.
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S02 flTATB HOBTIOULTDRAI. BOCIBTT.
OoleoptfiroQs )arv«e feed upon almost all kinds of veifetable and animal sabstances, from Uie petals of the moat delicate flower to the most rank smelling carrion, from finite and nats to tlie most' pangent spices to be foand at the grocer's or draggist's. A considerable pro* portion axe cannibals, and prey upon members of their own claas. Larvffi of saoh species are aenally very active, while the vegetable feeders are, as a mle, awkward and slaggish in their movementa. In this Order the transformations are complete. The larvie molt or change their skins several times, and their growing period varies in length ftom a f^v weeks to two or three years. They transform either upon or beneath the sorfiwe of the ground, or upon the leaves or within the frait or wood npoo which they have fed. The papse are obtecUd, re- aembiing those of Hymenoptera in having each member encased in a separate sheath.
In the matter of classification, this Order is so oompreheosive, that it is impossible within the limits of this little work to inolnde any sys- tem that will enable the tyro to determine every species of which he may find an example, except as to the primary divisions. Beyond this the most that will beattenipted will bea definition of snch groups as con- tain oonspicaonsly injnrions or conspioaoasly beneficial species. When we leant that in North America alone, exclneive of Mexico, we have more than nine thoasfutd named species, representing npwards of seventeen hnndred genera and aboDt eighty distinct fomtlies, it is evident than volumes are reqaired for anything like adequate description and definition.
Following the system of the recognized anthorities, the primary divisions of the Goteoptera are as follows :
Sab-Order I. The True Beetles (Cole o ptbbi), in which the moath parts are all present and the front of the head is not elongated..
Sab-Order II. The Snont Beetles (B h T n o o P h o b A.), in which the front part of the head is more or less prolonged into a beak, the labmm not distinguishable and the palpi reduced to minute, jointlesa points.
The first of these Sab-Orders is then separated into two sections, based upon the correspondence or lack of correspondence in the nam- ber of tarsal joints.
Ist. Ibohbba (Simitar joints) species which, wiih rare ex- ceptions, have the same number of joints in all the feet.
2d. Hbtbbomeba (Different joints), including species which have fire joiut« in each of the front and middle feet, and only fonr joints in each of the hinder pair.
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OUTLINES OF KKTOHOLOGT. fiOS
Beetles belonginff in the Isomeka are snb-divided into five tribes:
I. Adbphxoi. (capQlToronB beetles), lAod and Water Tigers, fana- ters sod trappers of other iDsects for tiie most part, althongh a few species subsist on vegetation. In these the antennse are thread-like, cylindrical, vith the joints dlstinot.
II. Olatioobnia (Glob-boms), haring the ant«nn«e thickened giadnally or sbrnptly toward the tip ; feet with from one to five joints ; small beetles of various liabits.
' III. BekbiooBKIA (Saw-horns), having the antennie toothed or serrated (in some few species also enlarged at the tip, mnoh as in the preceding tribe, bat the species in other respects agreeing with the neml>ers of this tribe). This groap inclndes a great namber of small borers.
IV. Lambllioobhia (Leaf-borns), having the knob of the anten- nee composed of several leaf-like or blade-lilEe parts, which the insect can unfold or close op at wilt. This Tribe includes the largest insects in the Order, most of which feed, often in the perfect as well as tbelsi^ vffi state, npou vegetation, foliage, roots and decayed wood.
Y. Phytophaga (Plant-eaters), mostly with thread-like antenne, in some species very long, in others short and slightly thickened to- ward the tip ; fonrtb and fifth joints of the feet consolidated, ttte former minute. All the species feed on vegetation and many are extremely destructive.
Neitherthe Section Hbtebohbba nor the Bub-Order B h y K- onoPHOBA requires division into tribes for convenience of study.
CHAPTER XV. Order COLBOPTBRA. Tribe I. Adephaoa.
CANNIBAL BBBTLES.
In this group of beetles we find mainly camirorous species, many of which prey especially on insects destructive to vegetation, and on this account claim recognition as among oar best Mends. They also merit consideration by their great beaaty of form and color, and by the grace and agility of their movements. The most important Atmilies are the Tiger-beetles (Cicindblid.e}, the Caterpillar hunters (Gababid^ ), the Water-tigers ( Dytibcid-c ), and the Water-whirligigs (Gyeinid*).
The Tiger-beetles received their popular name on acconnt of their ferocioQS habits, their swift movements and the stealthy manner in which their larvie lie in wait for their prey. They are diurnal insects of
OOA STATE HOBTItmLTirBAX. 800IBTY.
medium or rather small size (three- foortliB inch and uDder in length), of elegant form and often of bnllia&t metallio color. Their choseo hannts are sanny psth-vays, hard beaten roads and the sand; shores of streama, lakes and the ocean.
The head of a Tiger-beetle is broader than the thorax. It is pro- vided with a very complete month, of which the most important parts are the loQfr, sharply-toothed and curved jawa, which crosB each other when dosed. The eyes are large, roand or somwhat oblong and pro- truding ; the antenaaB long and slender, arising from the &ce jast above the base of the mandibles. The prothorax is nearly sqnare, the scatel- lam very small, and the wing cases, which are rather narrow, widen slightly toward the hinder end of the body. The under wings are well developed, and the insect rises easily into the air for short flights. The legs are long and slender and the joints of the feet spiny. The dark metallic color is in some species varegated by dots and zigzag lines of yellow or cream white. The larvee live in perpendicular holes in the gronnd and are extremely ugly in appearance. They have a broad head and immense jaws, and long sprawling legs. On the middle of the back is a large doable hump, terminating in backward carving hooka, of which tbeae oreatores make use in climbing to the entranoe to their holes and sustaining themselves there while lying in wait for their prey. Any unlucky insect happening to stray within reach of those terrible jaws is seized with a grasp from which there ia no escape, dragged into the hole and devoared.
More than sixty species of OicitideUdw are found in the United Btatea. (See beetle on plate.)
The Qround-beetles or " Caterpillar-hunters " include a great nam- ber of predaceous species, which may occasionally be seen ranning over the gronnd in fields and gardens, bat are neaally hidden under stones, boards, fallen leaves and the like daring the day. They are easily distinguished from the Tiger-beetles by the head being narrower than the prothorax, and the latter somewhat more constricted or taper- ing toward the base of the wing covers. They are also, with a few exceptions, of plainer coloring, and the most conapicuone species are of larger size than is the rale among the Tiger-beetles. One of the chief structaral characters of these beetles is the peculiar eardrop- shaped trochanter of each of the hinder legs. (See Part let. Fig, 6, A, b.)
They are, as rnle, noetvrnal in their habits, ranning ont of their hiding places at nightfall, and exploring field and garden, even climb- ing trees in the search for their six-legged game, tearing in pieces cater- pillars and grubs, and even other beetles, wherever foand. They are often
OtITLIKEB OP ENTOMOLOOT. 605
attracted to lamplight, and I have, on eeveral ocoaBions, eeeD the side- walks Around the electric light peats almost covered with dead and dis- abled specimens of the beantifal, metallic-green Caloioma aorutator, Fabr. As they are very swift mnners, most species make bnt little nse of their wings ; indeed, the latter are in some cases entirely nnde- Tcloped, and the elytra are firmly joined at the ^ntnie on the back.
The larvse are elongate, somewhat flattened gmbs, having the body protected on top by horny plates, and in some instances terminated in a pair of branching spines or forceps-like appendages. Thuy bnrrow back and forth jnst beneath the enrlace of the earth, and destroy many of the soft larvfB of frnit and leaf-feeding species that have entered the ground for transformation.
Among the most beneficial species is the Fiery Oronud-beetle (Calo- ■foma calidium, Fabr.), a large and elegant beetle of a black color, with elytra (wing covers) thickly dotted with shining, impressed, coppery apots (see Fig. — -), This beetle preys npOn cat-worms, and its hirvsB, having the same habit, has been called the " Oat- worm lion," Another smaller species, Lebia grandis, with a red-brown thorax, and legs and 'dfO'k-btne wing covers renders as good service in destroying the larvEe of the Colorado potato -beetle.
One species, a little larger than the above, bnt clo&ely resembling it in form and color, is called the Bombardier beetle (6racAiniu/uniau«), as it has the singalar power of discharging a volatile and pnngentfinid from the tip of the abdomen, which rises in the air like a little potf 4)f smoke. It is a means of defense against its enemies.
The Water-tigers are quite common in ponds and sloggish streams. The beetles are easily recognized by their broad, flat, ovate, pol- ished bodies, often an inch and a quarter in length, and by the hairy, oar-like shape of the hinder legs. When distarbed these beetles dive ■deep ander water, carrying with them a babble of air which sustains respiration nntU they again rise to the sar&ce. Their larvEe are long and cylindrical, with a pair of breathing tabes at the posterior end that can be protmded above the sarfaoe of the water. The head is armed with powerful, scissor-like jaws which are kept in almost constant mo- tion. They are very savage and greedy, feeding apon other aqnatio Insects, tadpoles and small fish, in some streams proving very destruc- tive to the latter. When full grown they crawl upon shore and enclose themselves in earthen cells within which they change to pnpse. The perfect insects make their way into the water as soon as they emerge.
The "Whirligigs" are another family of preying water-beetles which, though allied to the Water-tigers, are distinguished from (hem
606 STATE HOBTiaULTDBA.L 800IBTT.
by their amaller size, their roand bine-black bodies, long front legs aod very short swimmiQg legs. The eyes are bilobed, giriag them the ap- pearance of two on each side. Tbey nanally appear in groaps on the Borface of tbe water, sporting and circling about in great apparent eo- joyment. The larvie Jock like myriapods, having a pair of long, spioy proceseee on each abdominal segment.
CHAPTER XVI. Order, coleoptbba. Tribes, Clavicoenia and Sbrbicobnia.
OLUB-HOBNED AND 8AW-H0BNBD BBBTLEB.
n
Hat-beaded Apple ti
In the first of these Tribes we find a large nnmber of qnite dis* tinct ftimilies and genera of beetles in which tbe principal point of agreement is fooud in the anteaaee, which in most of the species are " clubbed," or rather thick and gradaally and slightly enlarged toward the tip. Bat even in this character there is some variation — Ipa fasiata and the species of JVifiduIa, for example, having anteoDsethat are dis- tinctly knobbed at the end.
Among the Clavicorn beetles the number of joints of the feet ranges f^om one to five, most species having the same Dumber in the hind tarsi as in the others.
Tbe representative Families of this snbdivision of the Order are the Barying beetles (Silphid^), the Eove beetles (Staphtlinid*), the Lady-bird beetles (Coccinbllid^), and the Masenm pests and Oarpet beetles (Dbbmestid.*:}.
The Burning beetles or Sexton beetles are so called ttom their habit of first burying the dead bodies of other insects, birds and small ani- mals npon which their larvie feed, before placing their eggs upon them ; and one issomeUmes astonished upon coming across such small car-
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OUTLINES OP ENTOHOLOOY. 607
rion to find it being moved by Bome aneeen force. If taken np or tamed over, Beveral speoies of large beetles that vere at work digpog oat the earth beneath it will be disclosed. Many of the species are easily collected by means of snch nnaavory traps.
These beetles differ considerably in size and color, bat all have rather broad, flattened bodies, Ave joints in all the feet, which end in long claws. The antenna) are rather abruptly enlarged at the tips. The prothorax is expanded into a broad plate nsed as a shovel in the dig- ging operations, yeoropkorut amerioanua, Oliv., is onr largest speciee, fireqnently measDring one and oa«-fonrth inch in length by one-half inch in breadth. It is of a gloasy-blaok color, with a large red-brown spot in tii6 middle of the head, the piothorax being almost entirely of red-brown, and there are two large patches of the same bright color on each wing cover. The black antennn end in a leafy knob of golden brown, and the joints of the front feet are covered on the ander side with sUky hairs of a similar color. The pointed tip of the abdomen protrndes aboat one-foarth inch beyond the sqoarely cat wing covers. In the genos Silpha the body is very flat and almost orbicalar, the prothorax being expanded into a wide, thin flange, and is osnally of a brighter color than the broad, roagbened wing covers.
The Bove beetles have long, slender, black or dark colored bodies, with very short, sqaore wing covers which leave more than one-half of the abdomen unprotected. The head is asaally somewhat broader than the prothorax, the sharply pointed jaws crossed in front, and the rather small, oval eyes are wide apart. Some species are an inch or more in length, while others are very minnte. Like the preceding tribe, they are carrion feeders, bat prefer the carcasses of the larger animals, snch as dogs and horses.
The Lady-bird beetles inulade a gronp of small^ handsome beetles of an oval or hemispherical form, with three-jointed feet and short antenn». The sarfoce is polished and asaally ornamented with ronnd or oval spots of black on a rose-red, brick- widM^^n^^^/^% red or orange ground, or with red spots on a black ^m ud pop»-»rMr g].Q^Qj_ The Lady birds are among the best known of their order, and deserve to be the popular favorites which they are, on account of the excellent service which they render in ridding our gardens and orchards of plant-lice, bark-lice and other small insect pests. The larvn are ugly, alligator-shaped creatures, generally of a dnll, black color, in some species banded with yellow. Some have the snr£ace covered with spines, while others are simply ridged and hairy.
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606 BTATE HOBTiaUI.Tn&AI. BOaiBTT.
MegiUa maeulata, one of the most familiar, is aboat one-flftfa of an inch long, of oval shape and pink color, marked on head, thorax and wing covers with large, black spots. Hippodamia aonvergent is some- what larger, of a dull oraDgft color, with very small black dots. Okilo- oorua bivulneria is hemispherical, aboat one-sixth inch in diameter, shia- ing blaok, with a oonspicaoas blood-red spot on each wing cover, near the base. It is an especial enemy of all sorts of bark-lice or scale insects, and may be foand on trees or shraba infested with the latter, Vedalia eardinalis, which resembles the above species in size and shape, bat is of a bright red color, with foar black spots on the wing covers, is at present the moat celebrated member of its groop, having been imported under the instractions of Dr. Biley, U. S. Entomologist, from Aastralia into California, in 1888, for the purpose of keeping in check the Fluted scale of the orange fleerya), and having in less than two years almost eztenntnated the pest.
About one hundred aud forty-five species of Lady-birds are known ID S'orth America, all of which, so for as known, are carnivorous, ex- cept one species (Epilachna borealU), the S'orthem Lady>bird, which is a vegetarian and occasionally qait« destrnctive to squash and encum- ber vines.
The Museum Pests — Derme»te» — are also mostly small species, which are not only the special pests of museums, derstroying very rapidly the contents of entomological and ornithological cabiueta when they have once found entrance to them, bnt they are very destrootive, also, to fnrs, woolens, fdathers and similu- animal prodncta, and some species even invade the pantiy. In these beetles the head and pro- thorax are short, the latter haviug grooves for the reception of the eleven jointed antennie; the eyes are round and between them is a single ocelhu. The legs are short, with five jointed feet. The larvss are very active, hairy grubs, some of which have a tuft of bristles at the tail, and most species shnn the light, although the beetles of one or two kinds have been taken on flowers.
Dermestea lardariut, one of the larger species, blaok with broad gray bands at the base of the wing covers, is sometimes destructive to dried meats and similar articles of food. D. vul^nnt, one-third of an inch long and entirely dnll black, attacks stored hides and manufactured leather. Anthrenu» varius, the worst of the musenm pests, is round oval in form, only about one-tenth inch in length, bright chestDUt brown with the wing covers crossed by three wavy bands of pale gray, be- tween which u-e dashes and flecks of black. A. seropkvlaria, the ^ Bufblo bug," or carpet beetle, is still smaller than the above species, is black with markings of pale red and white. It was introduced
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OUTLINBB OF BNTOMOLOQY. 609
some ;eaiB ago in imported carpets trota Europe, and has already be- come a widely diseeminated pest. Among tbe beetles claseiAed as SssBBicoBNiA are found many very beantifol and interesting insects, as well as some that are exceedingly pernicious. Most of the species hare rather short serrate antenne, are of oblong or elongate oval form, with five-pointed, or in a few species, fonr-pointed tarsi. The most important Families are Spring or snapping beetles ( Ela.tbbid^ ), the saw-horned borers (BuPBBSTiD-ffli}, and the fire-fly and soldier beetles (Lahptbaj)^). The spring beetles have the entirely pecaliar habit, If laid upon their backs, of throwing themselves into the air with a jerk, in most eases coming down in proper position. If held loosely in the hand, also, they will bend themselves backward and strike again and again in the effort to obtain their freedom. The power to effect these motions lies in an ingenious sort of spring in the shape of a strong pointed projection on the prosternnm ( the under side of the prothoraz), which by curving the body backward is oangbt suddenly in a socket on the mezo sternnm, causing an elastic rebound of the whole body. These beetles are of long, oval, somewhat flat'teued form, and usually of dull brown color, thongb a few species display brighter tints, and tbe enrfoce is covered with a flue pubescence. The outer anji^es of the very wide prothoraz are prolonged into points which curve around the edge of the wing covers.
The larvte are known as " Wire-worms," in reference to their long, hard, slender bodies. Some species rank with injurious insects from their habit of cotting off the roots of yonng corn and other vegetation. On IhiB other hand, several are beneficial, and are known to find their way into the tunnels of wood-boring larvte and destroy them. The m^ority, however, so far as known, breed in decaying wood or the pith of weeds. A few large species are Inminous. and are, &t night, objects of great splendor.
001" largest and most striking American species, tbe Eye-spotted Elater or Snappiog-beetle fAlaiu oculatus, Linn.), varies in length from one to one and one-half inches. It is of a black color, with the wing covers longitudinally ridged, and marked with fine lines and flecks of white, which, being of the nature of scale-like hairs, are liable to rub off. On the top of the broad pro-thorax are two large velvety black spots encircled with white, which from their resemblance to eyes are often mistaken for them.
The Saw-horned borers ( Bdpbbstid^ ), compose a large group of handsome hard-shelled, compactly formed beetles, all of which have the antenaee, which are rather short, serrate on tbe inner edge. They are nsoally of a pale brown or gray color, with brassy or coppery reflections :
*lft STATE HOBTIOULTTJRAL SOCIETY.
indeed the entire surface, minntely rooghened aad indented aa it is, ap- pears like beaten metal. The head ie deeply Bonben into the thorax, and the Iatt«r widens slightly behind and fits tightly over the base of the wing covers.
The Bopresttans are diamal insects, flying in the sanahine or basking in it while slowly crawling np and down the trnnks of trees, in the bark of which they deposit their eggs. The larvte are wood-borers, gall-makers or leaf-miners, and are all more or less destrnotiTe to forest and f^tt trees and shmbbery. They are characterised by a relatively enormous expansion of the pro-thoracic joint, from which the remain- ing two joints of the thorax taper abraptly to the slender, cylindrical abdominal division. There are no legs, and the enlarged joint has a smooth homy plate on both upper and ander sides, and is mnch flat- tened.
The well-known Plat-headed borer fCkysobotkrat femorata, Fabr.), so destmotive to many kinds of froit and shade trees. Is the best repre- sentative of the boring species. The species of AffrUu$ oanse swellings in the stems of blackberries and raspberries. These beetles are plender and cylindrical, with dark-bine or black wing covers and copper-colored thorax, and are abont one-fonrth of an inch long. The larvae of the species, Inclnded in the genus Sraekyt, mine the leaves of apple and oak.
The Fire-flies and Soldier beetles are very diEferent in many re- spects from the preceding gronp. Their bodies are very soft and the wing covers thin and flexible. In the "Fire-flies" or "Lightn^ng-bngs" < genera Photinws and Photurua), the head is almost concealed nnder the expanded margin of the pro-thorax. The light which they emit is supposed to be from a phosphorescent aobstanoe in the abdomen, and is given off in flashes at irregnlar intervals, both during flight and re- pose. In Photinm pyralis both sexes are winged and Inminons. In Fhotunu, the somewhat smaller and less brilliant species often have wingless females.
The larvffi, which are " glow-worms," barrow in th eeartb, often com- ing to the sar&ce, and have a faint luminosity. They feed on the soft larvEe of other insects and on earth-worms.
The most common species of fioldier-beetle is a slender, clay-yel- low insect, with a large black spot on the top of the pro-thorax and an oblong one near the tip of each wing cover. This beetle bears the rather formidable name of Ohawliognathiu pennaylvanieut, De G. The larvie somewhat resemble those of the lady-birds and like them are of service to as by feeding on other insects that are injnrions to vegeta tion. The beetles may almost always be found in the antnmn npon the flowers of the Golden-rod and Eupatoriam.
OUTLINES OP KNTOMOLOaT.
OHAPTEU XVII.
Order COLEOPTBEA. Tribe Lamellicorkia.
Spotted PeUdnota, (PitUnola jnmtlala) wllh Isrvn and papee {afUr Bile;) .
The Tiibe Lambllicdrnia is of ^eat extent, and in it we find mostly large or medinm-sized beetles which feed on vegetation, either fresh OF in a state of decay, or on the excrement of the larger animals. These beetles resemble each other chiefiy in the form of the anteunee, which terminate in a knob or expansion, composed of three — sometimes more — ^leaf-like blades, attached by one end and capable of being opened or closed like the pages of a book, at the will of the insect.
Before taking up the true Lamellicorns we find a small gronp, some- times distinguished as Pecticoenia (tooth-homed), iu which the antea- nffi are fnmished at the tips with several stiff projections on one side, like the teeth to a comb, and are farther characterizecl by being bent or elbowed in the middle.
In this division the principal Family (Luoanid^) contains the Stag beetles or Rnching beetles. In these the bead is very broad, the eyes comparatively small, the shanks (tibice) notched or spined on the oater edge, and the feet are all flve-jointed. The great pecnliarity, however, 18 fonnd in the nnnsnal development of the jaws, which protrude from the front of the head, and are from one-fonrth to one-half the length of the body, armed with spines and tooth-like projections on their inner edges. The larvfe are large, homy textured grnbs, with fonr or six Bprangling thoracic legs, and are mostly fonnd in rotten stamps or roots.
512 BTATE HOBTICDLTUBAL SOCIEIT.
Oar largest species, Litcanug elaphus, Fab., occars most sbandantly in the soathem States, bnt is often takeD as far north as St. Lonts. This js indeed a formidable looking insect. It la very hard and smooth, of a mahogany-brown color, the body one and one-half incb in length, and the immense mandibles extending forward three-fonrths of an inch more. It is bom the resemblance of these to the antlers of a deer that it receives the most appropriate name of " Stag beetle." Lucanut dama, Ham., is the most common " Pinch beetle," and oft«n enters oar rooms on snmmer evenings to the terror of nervoas people, whom it coald not injnre, bai to whom it might give a severe pinch with ita sharply toothed jaws, which carve inward and are aboat one-foarth inch long. The beetle is of the same form and texture, bnt a little lighter in color and considerably smaller than the soathem Stag beetle.
Another large beetle belonging in this group is the Horned Fassalns {Pastalua eomutuB, Fab.)- This is a shining black species of an oblong' form, having the sqaarish pro-thorax separated on top from the abdomea by a decided "waist" or constriction. The wing covers are longi- tadinally grooved. In this species the jaws are not abnormally en- larged, bat on each side of the head is a little pointed horn, and between them a longer one carving downward over the month. This beetle is osnall; one and one-fonrth inch in length.
The typical Lambllicobnia are, for convenience, separated into two divisions, in consideration of their different feeding habit chiefly, viz. : the JExerementivora, the Isrvse of which moslJy breed in manare, and Serbii!ora, in which the larv^ feed on vegetation, either growing or dead. In the first division the principal families are the OopridcB, AphodiidfB and Trogidw.
They are all scavengers and rank either as benefieial or innoxioas. The largest species, Oopria Carolina, Lim., is a great, sqoarish, clamsy creature, aearly an inch long and three-fourths inch wide, that frequently flies into our lighted rooms at night, and after bamping about against the walls and ceiling &lls to the floor with a th^id, generally landing upon its back, and lying helpless, kicking its legs about wildly in the effort to turn over. It is of a black color, somewhat hairy on the under snr&ce and legs, and the latter have the shanks of the fore legs ex- panded and notched for use in digging, as is characteristic of all the Lamellicorns. The female beetle tunnels perpendicularly under the droppings of cows and horses, and at the bottom of the hole places a large round ball of manure on which she deposits an egg. The larva, an unHJghtly, much-wrinkled grab, very thick in the middle and taper* ing toward each end, works its way into this compact ball, and beginning somewhere near the middle, eats toward the surface until it is redaced
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OUTLINBB OF BNTOMOLOOT. 618
to a mere shell, wbioh serTes as a sort of cocoon for tbe protection of tbe popa.
Here also we find the common ^ Tamble-bn^ " or " Tnmble-dnng " (Oanthon leevii, Dmiy ), a much smaller, dark-brown species, neoally seen in pairs rotlin^ a ball of manare aboat the size of a large marble. This species affords one of the rare instances in which the male assists the female in making provision for the yonng. When a snitable spot is foand, a shaft is sunk foar or five inches into the earth, the ball rolled in, and tbe female, after pansing long enongh to deposit an egg npOD it, begins fiUing np the hole, in which labor her partner assists. But little pains, however, is taken with this part of the work, and often tbe hole is left partly unfilled. A beaatifal species, somewhat larger that! the above, has similar habits. This ia (Fhanaus oamifex, Linn.) It is of a metallic green color with copper-colored thorax, whicb in tbe male ia adorned with a ,baekward enrving horn.
The Afhodida are all small shining black or black and red beetles, which sometimes astonish gardeners by the nnmbers in which they appear in green-houses and on hot-bed sashes, having bred from tbe manure used as a fertilizer.
The fomily Tboqid^ incladea but one genas, Trox. The most common species are small, dingy, black, ronndish beetles, often attracted to the light at night. They are distingnished by the widely dilated thighs of tbe ftout legs and by the deeply ridged and pitted sur&ce of the thorax and wing covers.
The Leaf-chafers, Herbivorous Lamellieorns, are distingnished from the manure-beetles by their more slender legs, long sharp claws, and by the tip of the abdomen projecting slightly beyond tbe wing covers. They feed entirely on vegetable matter, and unlike most other insects in their perfect state, the beetles themselves often do great damage to flowers and foliage. I^ny of the larvEc live underground, subsisting on the roots of grasses and other valuable plants; others are found in rotten wood or other decaying vegetation. They are fkt, white, wrinkled grabs, with horny heads, long, sprawling legs, and the hinder part of the body in many species thicker than the remainder, and filled with dark waste matter.
This group has been separated into four families : the Monarch beetles (DyHaitidceJ, the Dor beetles or May beetles (MelonthidaJ, the Brilliant cliafers (ButelidaJ, and the Flower chafers (CetonadtE). Among the Monarch beetles we find the largest insects in the Order. One species, sometimes called the Bhinocerns beetle (Dynagtea Utyua, Linn.), is often seen in the Southern and Middle States. It is fully two HE— 33
614 BTA.TB HOBTIOULTUBAL SOCIETY.
inches in length, by an inoh in diameter, and thick in proportion. The color is pale gray, the winj; covers being marked with nomeronB irregn- lar blotches and spots of black. From the front of the head of the oiale a long, pointed, polished horn cnrres npward, which is almost met by a similar downward corriug one on the thorax, on each side of which are two small, straight ones. The female has no thoracic horn, and only a small protuberance on the bead. The larvee are, as a role, fonnd in rotten wood, bnt are also said to injure ash trees by feeding on the roots.
Under the name of Dor-beetles or May or Jnne beetles ( Mklon- THID-S), are grouped a great variety of medium-sized, leaf-feeding spe- cies, most of which have thick, oblong bodies and are of a plain brown color. In some the surface is smooth and shining, in others more or less thickly covered with bairs or scales. One of their most peculiar characters is that each of the claws of the feet is minutely bi&d or forked at the tip, which aocounta for the persistence with which they cling to any bat the hardest and most polished surfoces. This fine division of the claws cau be distinctly seen only with a lens.
In this family the agriculturist finds a large number of the promi- nent pests of his ferm and orchard, to only a few of which have we here space for reference.
One of these destructive species is the common May or June bee- tle (LackKOgtemafMca, Proh.), a smooth, shining, chestnut-brown insect, wliich issues f^om the ground in swarms during the latter part of May or early in June, filling the air at twilight, and finding its way in num- bers into lamp-lighted rooms, unless excladed with the utmost care. These beetles settle on trees at night and feed voraciously on the foli- age. They are cleanly, ino^orons and inofensive creatures to handle, and therefore make excellent and interesting subjects for examination and experiment.
They remain hidden and dormant during the day, but awake to re- newed activity for several successive evenings. After paring the male dies and the female burrows into the earth to lay her eggs.
From the latter are hatched the " white grubs," so well known as among the chief pests of corn fields, meadows, lawns and strawberry beds. The observations of earlier entomologists pointed to the con- clusion that these grubs required at least two years for development, but Prof. Forbes, of Illinois, has demonstrated tliat under certain con- ditions the insect attains its growth and passes through all its transfor- mations in a single year.
In the same genus ( Laehnottema—vhic^i means " hairy-breaated") are a large number of other chafers, having essentially the same habits
OUTLINB8 OF EHTOHOLOQT. 615
as L.fuica, but many of these have not only the ander eide of the tho- rax hairy, bnt the pro-thorax and wiDg-covers also covered with a soft pabeacence, Bometimes evenly dlstribated and again arranged on the Tjng-co vfiTa in longitndinal ridges. Some of the species are mach smaUer and lighter colored. The Rose chafer or Bose-bog (Maerodac- tylu* iv,hipmotu», Fabr.) belongs also in this fomily (Mblolonthid^). This is SD ochreons-yellow beetle, rather slender in form, aboat one- third Inch in length, with very long, spiny legs. Its color is really almost black, bnt when treab. it is densely and evenly clothed in ;pate ochreons scales, which give to it its light color. It is altogether too common in the Eastern and Northwestern States, where it is exceed- ingly destrnctive to the blossoms of the grape, rose, and some other plants. Its larvae feed on the roots of shrabbery, and in their torn do macb damage.
Among the Brilliant chafers (Butbi^id^), which are separated ftom the Melolonthians by the nneqoal claws, which are not bidd at the tip, is a large species, the Spotted Pelidnota (Pelidtiota punctata, Linn.], which is illustrated as a type of the FamUy. (Fig. 26.) This is one of the grape-vine pests, gnawing the foliage. It is a stont spe- cies, about three-fonrths of an inch long, of a clay-yellow color, with three large, black dots on each wing-cover. Dr. Riley bred the larva in decaying stumps and roots. The Goldsmith beetle fCatalpa lanigera, Linn.), a beantiful species, is very like the above in form and size, bnt Is entirely of a cream yellow color, with golden and prismatic reflec- tions.
Among the Flower beetles (Cbxoniid^) are a few of great size, bat, while none are very small, most of the Korth American species are of medium or nnder medium size. The form is slightly flattened, the ficutellum unusually targe, and the wing covers ate peoaliarly notched or hollowed oat on the sides near the base, so that it is not necessary to raise them to allow the wings to be nnfolded for flight. The month is provided with a brash for collecting pollen, of which these insects are very greedy, as they also are of nectar, and to procare it they cut into tubular flowers. They may be found in spring drinking the sap that sometimes oozes from the trunks of maples and other trees, and are also qaite injurious to ripe fruit. They differ from other members of their fiimily in being diurnal in habit. Allorkina nitida, Linn., is a beautiful, large, velvety green species, with light-brown margins to the wing covers. Euryomia inda and E. melancholiea, smaller, red-brown mottled species, are the most destmotive to flowers and fruit.
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STATE HOBTICDLUBAL 80C1BTTT.
CHAPTER XVIII. Order colkoitera. Tribe Phytophaga.
BOBEB8 AND LBAF BBETLBS.
Also Section Hbtebomeba.
BLISTEB BEETLES, ETC.
Round-htadMl Apple Tim Borer (Saptrda CtniUa.)
This division of similar footed beetles oomprUes a great variety of forme, all of which feed on vegetation, and inany of which are extremely destrncttve to trees, berbaoeoas plants and seeds. Three of the most important &aiilies ace the Long-homed borers (Cbbamby- ciD^), the Leaf beetles (Ghbysohelid^), and the Seed beetles ( BSUOHID^ ).
The first of these families, often termed the " Longioorua " or " GaprieomB," is a large and interesting one, including many species of great Rize, others of rare beanty and all very injnrioas. They may be recognized at a glance by their long and asnally slender antennte, which in a few species are more than twice the length of the body, and which carve backward like the horns of a goaf. The form of the body is elongate snb-cylindrical, in some species tapering toward the hinder end. The head is broad, vertical, and famished with strong jaws. The eyes are quite pecaliar, being IuNaf« (hollowed oat) on the inner side, with the antennie implanted in the hollows. The basal joint of the latter is almost invariably longer than any of the succeed- ing joints, which gradually taper to a point. Tbe thorax is seldom aa broad as the hind body, and is sqaare or barrel-shaped, often with one or two spines or teetb on each side. The legs are long, bat scarcely so well flitted for running as for affording a secure support to tbe insect when at rest. The joints of the feet are four in number, spongy or
OTTTLIKBS OF BKTOMOLOOT. fil7
cuBhioDed beneath, and the third one bilobed. These beetles have the power of prodaciug s squeaking aonnd by rnbbing the pro-thorax up and dovn over the bases of the wing covers. This is done not only as an expression of fear when captnred, bat for amosemeat or as a call to their mates, and is termed Stridulation. The females have an oviposi- tor that eaa be teleecoplcally extended to a considerable length, in order to place the eggs deep into holes or into the cre-^ices of bEvk of the trees in which the larvse feed. The colors of many species are very bright, disposed in stripes or bands or in dotted patterns on a plain gronnd. They ore for the most part nocturnal, and conceal them- selves carefully during the day. A few, however, are exceptional, and may, at certain seasons, be found on flowers or enjoying the sunshine on the trunks of trees.
The larvte are all wood-borers, and many of them do great damage to fruit and forest trees, and in vineyards. They are fleshy, white cylindrical grubs, terminating bluntly behind, with all the joints sepa- rated by deep incisions, and the first thoracic one much enlarged and covered with a horny plate. The head is small and usually dark brown, the greater part of it comprised in a pair of powerfnl jaws, capable of cutting into the hardest wood. A few of these larvee have the usnal number of very small thoracic legs, but the minority have no legs at all, and move up and down in their barrows by alternate contractions and extensions of the body, and by means of the hunched segments. It is a habit with some species to keep one end of the burrow open, through which to pash oat the chips and castings, and their presence is often betrayed by the little heaps of sawdust on the bark. The great ma- jority, however, leave their castings in a compact mass behind them as they proceed. Many of these larvfe grow fbr two or three years, and a few even longer. When ready for transformation they tunnel their way to the surface, leaving a slight shell of the bark entire over the place of exit. They then retreat to a safe distance and form a cell or nest of wood fibers and castings, and here assume the pupee form. In this stage they are soft and white, sometimes almost transparent, but with each member of tbe future beetle clearly defined, and they have a peculiar mummified appearance. At the end of two or three weeks tbe membraoouB casings are slipped off and the perfect beetle, bat in a very soft and imperfectly colored condition, is disclosed. Tbe insect remains quiet in its cell for some time until all tbe parts are hardened, after which it breaks through the alight door and enters upon the en- joyments and business of its matnre life.
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S18 STATE HORTICDLTUBAI. SOOIBTT.
In the genns Prionut we fiod several very large, dark -brown spe- cies, whose laiTffi, meaaaring two and one-half or three inches in length, are quite frequently fonnd boring roots of grspe-vines, apple trees and similar plants.
Saperda eandida, Fab., a beantifal species of a cinnamon-brown color above, with two broad milk-white stripes extending the whole length of the bo^y, is the parent of the mach execrated " Eonnd-headed Apple tree borer" (see Fig. 26], which does so mnch damage in or ohards by boring the trees near the ground.
The Twig-girdler {Oneideret cingvtatua, Say.) has the bad habit of girdling the twigs in which the female lays her eggs, it attacks both fruit and forest trees. Maples, Locust and Hickory are bored by the larvte of A group of beautiful beetles of the genus Clytut. They are rather large, of dark colors, ornamented with curved and V-shaped [Fig. H.] transverse bands of bright yellow, pale green or white. The Leaf-beetles (Ghbys- OMBi,iD.£) constitute an im- mense group of small to medi- ^ um-sized species, many of which display brilliant and beautiful colors. The scientific name given to the family, from words
Bignifl^ing a golden apple, re- A.p«Mn. b«tiB.. ..
fers to this qoality as well as ^f ||i,';°i;^Ji^f,;;^'i^I"«*^'
to the round or oval form so common among them. Tho
Tatg-giidier. head is very short and mnch narrower than the pro-tho-
colon. dull-brawn
ftod dingT'wUu. rax ; the antenna somewhat enlarged toward the tips and
set wide apart; the eyes are roand and prominent ; the legs are short and stout; the joints of the feet are foar in number, each broad and eashioned beneath. The larvre are of a variety of forms, but mostly broad and thick, with well-developed thoracic legs. They feed exposed upon the surface of leaves, or, in the case of a few of the smaller spe- cies, they mine between the npper and under cuticles.
A.mong these beetles we find such notorious pests as the Oolorado Potato beetle fDoryphora 10-lineata, Say), the Asparagns beetle (Crio- oeiita asparagi, Linn.), the Striped Oacnmber beetle fDiabrotica vittata. Fab.), the Streaked Cottonwood beetle fPlaffioperma loripta, Fab.), and great numbers of others.
The Tortoise beetles, whieh are the especial enemies of the Sweet potato plant and of other Oonvolvulacie ore roand or oval species from one-fifth to one-fourth inch in length, of a flattened oval form, with a
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_H_'V|1>
OUTLIHES OP BNTOMOLOOT. 519
membriuioas margin aronad the thorax and ving covers which altnoet conceals the legs. The coloring is extremely beaotifnl — in one Bpecles, Otuaidn auriehalcea, being at times of the most brilllsntly bnmished gold, and agidn with opalescent refiections. Other species are mottled or striped in gold and brown.
The flat, oval larvie have a spiny sorbce and lateral margin, and the body terminates in a pair of strong bristles, apou which daring growth the cast-off skins and excrement are accnmnlated and held ap over the body to shield it from the ann and from its enemies.
The larvee of species belonging to the genera Chlamyi and Gonnop' tera make cases, which, when feeding, they carry over or drag behind them, and to which they retire for repose.
Another gronp with whose destructive work the farmer and gar- dener is only too well acqnainted, contains the Fiea-beetles. These are mostly small species, characterized by their greatly expanded and thick- ened thighs, which ^ve them their remarkable jumping power. Saltiea tAalybea, lUig., is a dark steel-blne species, often very troablesome on grape-^'ines. The Ooenmber-flea beetle Gr^idodera caoummria, Har., is one of the pests of the Qonrd family of plants. The Striped Flea beetles fPhyllotrata timiata, Stepb., and P. vittata, Fabr.), riddle the leaves of tnrnips, radishes and cabbage with small, roand holes. The larv£B feed ander groand on the roots or miqe the leaves of plants be- longing in the same family with the vegetables mentioned. Saltiea f OraptoderaJ /oliacea, Lee, is very destructive in the far westein States to the foliage of young apple trees.
The Seed weevils (Bbvohidjb) are a small &mi1y of beetles that breed in seeds and grain. They are of broad oval, flattened form, from one-tenth to one-flfth inch long. The antennee are rather short and serrate, and the tip of the abdomen protrudes beyond the wing-covers. The Pea weevil fBruehut piai, Linii.}, the Bean weevil CB. ohsolettu. Say.), and the Grain weevil (B. granariuB, Linn.,) are the most destructive species, whose habits are well known to every farmer and gardener.
Section Hetbrombea. In this somewhat isolated group of beetles, we flnd the chief peculiarity in the feet, the front and middle pair of which are five* jointed and the hind pair fonr-jointed. These are not cushioned be- neath, as are those of the Leaf beetles. Many of the species are exceedingly interesting to the biologist on account of their peculiar developmeut, which has one or two seemingly retrograde stages in those of parasitic habits.
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ff20 STATE HOBTIOULTDBU, BOOIBTY.
(Fig M.i ;J;l^g HeteromeroQg beetleB are separated into qnite a
number of fiunilies, of which two oa]y are of especial inter- est to the economic entomologist, viz.: The Oil or Blister beetles (Mbloid^) and the Meal beetles (Tenbbbiohid^). The Blister beetles are rather elegantly formed insects and differ from all others in having the somewhat triangnlar head set on Tertically with a distinct neck. The wing covers ^StSmiei'^and entire body waU ere rather thin and leathery. The colors are satin black or plain ash-gray, or black, margined with pale gray, or striped longitadinally with yellow. They are dinmiU insects, and, in their perfect state, feed voraciously on the foliage of the potato and also on certain kinds of flowers, and in the early antnmu may be foand on golden rod. The larvte, which ondergo what is termed kyper- m«tanorpho9i», exlBt in two forms, and are parasitic in the nests of bees and on the eggs of locnsts (g^nwalioppers). They belong to the genera Oantharis and EpUiauta.
Among the Meal beetles, the most abundant and pernicious spe- cies is Ten^rio molitor, Linn, a plain black or very dark brown spe- cies, about three-fl^s inch long, rather slender and elongate, and without any striking characteristics. The larve are homy skinned, slender, cylindrical worms, with well-developed feet, and are great pests in warebonses and storerooms where ground grain is kept.
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OOILINBB OF ENTOMOLOar.
CHAPTER XIX. Order COLBOPTERA. Sub-Order Bhyncophoba..
6NODT-BBBTLES AHD BAEK-BOEBRS.
1
The SDOnt-beetlee are all incladed, by the moHt recent writere od the aabject, in seven or eight very distinct families, but the species are Tery numerous. N'one of the North American species are of more than medinm size, while the majority are small — nnder one-fonrth inch in length. The great pecaliarity of these insects is fonnd in the pro- longation of the A'out part of the head into a beak or Mottt, termed the roBtrum, which is either broad and short, or long and thin, in some spe- cies straight, in others carved. The small but sharp jaws are situated at the end of the beak, and the labram and palpi are but very slightly developed or wanting. The antennce arise from the sides of the beab ; they are slender, elbowed or bent in the middle, and end in a knob or club. The rostrum is often grooved at the sides for the reception of these organs. The eyes are small and round. The body is compact and often wedge-shaped, and in many species the sarfaoe is ridged, pitted and raised into tubercles. The feet are four-jointed, each joint strongly bilobod and cnshioued beneath.
When distarbed oi ^ghtened, most of the species " play 'possum," feigding death most skillfully and persistently. The antennfe sink into the grooves in the beak, the latter, where its strnctnre permits, is bent nnder, close to the body, as are also the legs, and the insect drops to the ground motionless, where its color and ehape'so closely simulate a dried bad, bit of twig or seed, that ouly the most practiced eye can detect it.
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523 STATE HOETICDLTUEAL BOOIBTT.
The great majority of these beetles are frait and nut-eaters. The beak is ased to dilll tbe boles ia wbicli Ibe eggs are placed. Tbe larvte are &t, vrhite, thiO'Skinned and wrinkled grabs, withont feet or prolegs — except in one small and pecnliar group, tbe Br?athian8, which are wood borers. They are asnally in a more or less carved position from which some species, like the Apple-corcnlio, can never straighten tbemeelves. Some, when foil I fed, work tbeir way oat of the fruit or nats and drop to the gronnd, into which the borrow to transform; others change where they have fed.
Among tbe more important families are the Frait and Nut weevils ( CuBODLiONiD^ ), tbe Rice weev- ils and " Bill bugs " ( Calandbid^ ), and the Leaf- rollers [ Attalabid^).
In the amoaat and valae of the prodacts de- stroyed by it, the Peach or Plom carcalio (Oono-
Lkm and pipa of Apple
cnicaiio— After RiiBf. traoheliu Henwphar, Herb»t) may well head the list of the pernicioas species. Its characters aod habits are so well known that it is not necessary to recapitolate them here.
In some parts of the country this species is rivaled in the injury done to stone fruits by a slightly larger, smoother species called the Plum Gouger fCocoturus gcutellarig Lee.) The Apple curcnlio {AHtho- nomu8 quadrigibbua, Say), represented in Fig. 30, breeds in the fruit and passes its transformations without leaving it. The Nut weevils are nearly all included in tbe genus Balininus. They are smooth, oval bee- tles of an oobieous-drab color, with a very long, slender, dark brown beak, with which they drill boles in the green nuts for the receptiou of their eggs.
The principal genus of the Calandrid^ is tiphenophonu, in which are found the Cora Bill-bugs which often do so much injury to Indian corn by boring the roots and lower part of the stalk. The Bice weevil fCaUtndra oryzal, Linn.) is injanons to stored rice and other grain in the Sonthern States. The small beetles composing the family Attalabida breed on the leaves of Oak, Bku$ and other trees. After placing an egg a portion of the leaf is rolled into a knapsack-like case, in which the larva develops, feeding on the partially withered portions of the en- closed leaf.
The Bark-beetles (Scolytid^) are small, bard, cylindrical insects of a shining black or brown color, the abdomen appearing as thongh cut off obliquely behind, encircled by a ring of little points or teeth. The antennie are very short and knobbed at the tip. The larvte are much like those of curculioa, but have stronger jaws to adapt them for
OCTLIKBS OP XNTOMOLOGY. 623
wood-boriDg. They bore between the bark and solid wood, aeveral of them working fVoin a common center — their burrows, which gradually widen to the place of exit, radiating in all directions, making fancifhl carviDgs on the inner side of the bark and the sarface of the wood. They often prove very destructive in foreBts, to both pine and hard- wood trees. A species introduced from Europe (Scolytua rvgulosut, Batz.) has recently ezoited alarm among the fruit-growers of Illinois, by working under the bark of twigs and young branches, principally of stone fruits, producing an effect like blight, and in some cases caasing the death of the tree. Prof Forbes, who has publiBhed the first account of Us injuries in this country, finds it very generally distributed and promising to become a very serious enemy to all varieties of fruit trees.
CHAPTEE XX.
Order III. LEPIDOPTERA.
IFlg. Ml
AsterlM bnttsrHj, Utc* »ad obTjitUt— after Tenoey.
Among the butterflies and moths we find the most attractive, and with a few exceptions, the most conspicuous members of the class of insects. They are recognized without difflcalty by their broad and often
ugle
SZi ■ BTATB HOBTiaVL>TUBA.L BOOIBTT.
gaily colored win^, their soft, bairy bodies, small heads, promloeDt ejea aod antenDK, and in most speciBS, the long, coiled tODgae.
In the Lepidoptera the three principal divisioos of the body are distinct, but the neck is very short and there i« no slender pedicel con- oecting the thorax and abdomen. The head is small, bat broad' in pro* portion to ita length, and moves freely on the neck ; the eyes are hemi* spherical and of varions colon, sometimes sparsely hairy.
Two ocelli are present in some of the moths, hot are conc<>aIed ander the hairy scales that clothe the top and front of the head, and probably are not of mnch nse as organs of vision.
The antennee are always conapicnoas. They are either filiform, feathered or clnb-shaped. The npper jaws are not developed in the perfect Insects, and the lower Jaws CtnaxUlwJ are nnited and length* ened oat to form a hc^rny tnbe called the tongoe or lingua, which is coiled ap liKe a watch spring when not in nse. The palpi — at least one pair of them — are large and plomy and curve np in front of the face on each aide of the tongue.
The naoal form of the body ia long and alender, tftpering aomewhat in both directions. The pro-thorax is a very narrow ring, scarcely via- ible on top except for the two little knobs which it bears, from which arise small tafts of hiure. The mezo-thorax ia the most developed seg- ment of the body, bearing the fore-winga and the middle legs, and the two litUe lappets (patagiaj that cover the bases of the wings. The meta-thorax is alao quite large, and has attached to it the hind legs and hind wings. The legs are weak and slender, and are used chiefly as supports for the body when the insect ia at rest, and only rarely for walking or crawling. They are clothed with hair-like scales, and have one or two paira of apnra at or near the oater end of the ahank (tibia}. The feet have five slender cylindrical jointa, and terminate in a pair of minute claws.
The wings, in this order of insects, are the most striking featarea of the organism, and of first importance in every respect. They are formed of membrane supported by nnmerouB strong veins (see Fig. 6), and covered with a powdery aabatance which, when magnified, ia found to consist of minnte scales narrowly or broadly oblong, attached by a little stem ; they are notched on the outer edge and overlap each other in irregular rows, like the shingles on a roof. It ia in the brilliant colors and elegant patterns formed by the arrangement of these scales, that the beauty of the bnttfrfliea and moths chiefiy resides.
The patagia are covered with long ht^a, and fit over the bases of the npper wings like epaulettes. In their perfect state lepidopterons insects are rather ahort-lived, if we except the comparatively few species
OUTLINBS OF BHIOMOLOOT. ^6
thill hiberaste. The only nourishment they require is an ocoftaional elp of nectar from flowers or water from a dew-drop or from the moiat earth. Their basineBS in life is to seelE their mates and place their esgs npoD the plant« or other sabstances upon which their larvee sabsiat. The eggs of bntterflies are aanally conical and ridged or fretted on the anrface, and aa a role are deposited singly, while those of moths are mostly apherical or circolar, and deposited in clnsters.
The tranaformationa in this order are complete, and more easily observed than in moat other insects. The tarv% are all properly termed caterpillara, bat the smooth species are often popnlarly designated " worms," as for example, " cnt-worms," " canker-worma," " bnd- worms," etc. Like the parent insects, they vary greatly in form, size and color. The body is naoally cylindrical, composed of twelve or thirteen segments, besides the head. The latter is covered by a homy plate, often divided in the middle by a triangular " face," which has its base at thelabrnm. The jaws are broad and strong, serrated or toothed on the edges, the under lip (labium) ia well developed, but the maxilln and palpi are in most species qnite rndimentary. The antennse are represented by a pair of three or four jointed taberclea, and the eyes by three or four little dota or simple eyea, which probably enable them to distingniah daylight from darknesa. Aa Dr. Packard saya, " tbia ia naefnl information from a caterpillar's stand-point, aa moat of them hide by day and feed by night." The ipineret ia a amall colnlcal tabe on the lower lip, through which a gnmmy anbatance, secreted by most cater- . pillara, ia drawn out and becomes a fine silken thread, of which these inaecta make great nse in forming their nests or cocoona, in attaching themselves when molting, or snspending themaelvea in the air as a meana of escape from their enemiea.
Caterpillars, with very few exceptions, have from ten to sixteen legs — six of which, on the thoracic joints, are termed the true or tho- raeie legs, and are pointed and horny ; the others, which support the hinder part of the body, are broad fleshy props, and are termed the false legs or pro-legs; they terminate in a circle of minute hooks, by which their posaesaor ia enabled to cling to any surface upon which it wishes to crawl. Some caterpillars have the surface of the body smooth, while in others it ia covered with hair or protected by clusters of sharp branching splnee, or roughened by warts and tubercles. On the top of the first joint, just back of the head, there is in many spe- cies a clearly defined homy plate called the cervical collar or shield, and a similar plate at the binder end forms the anal or supra- anal plate.
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o38 STATB HOBTIODLTUBU. BOCIBTT.
la the proceaa of growth, lepidopteroua larvie molt or change their flkiDB ftrom three to five times. The operation is as followa: The hiodmOBt or aoal pro-legs are made &st to some rough sor&ce, or to a mat of Bilk prepared for the parpose. The larva then rests and fasts for a certain length of time. Presently the head plates begin to sepa- rate &om the neck, and a longitndinal slit appears on the top of the thoracic segments, which gradnally widens antJl the fore part of the body can be forced through, after which, by alternate expansions and contractions, the ootgrown skin is made to slip backward aati), by a floal effort, the aniU legs are withdrawn and the crampled mass of cast- off skin, termed the exuvium (plaral, exuviaj, is left attached to the leaf or bark, vhUe the caterpillar, in its new dress^which is, in some cases, qaite differently colored and ornamented from the ont^grovn one — crawls off in search of food with which to renew its exhausted strength.
The great majority of caterpillars subsist on the leaves, flowers and fruit of trees, shrubs and herbaceous plants. Of these they consume vast quantities every year, often partially or entirely destroying the most valuable crops in Batiafying their voracions appetites. A few species infest drugs and grocers' wares and some gnaw furs and woolen goods.
When fall grown, caterpillars cease to feed, and seek some place in which they will be concealed f^m their enemies while nnable either to escape or defend themselves. In this they succeed so well that it is but rarely that the pupro are discovered by any but practiced eyes.
Lepidopterons pnpee are called ehryaalidei. They are of varioas shapes, some being angular and inegnlar in outline, and have the sur- face roughened with humps and protuberatices,whi1e others are smooth, oval or oblong and highly polished. The iutegument is homy or shelly in its nature, composed of ohitine, a sobstance which enters largely Into the composition of the body-wall of insects in all stages of develop- ment. Each member is not encased in a separate sheath, as with the Hymenoptera and Goleoptera, bat the outlines of the parts can, in moat species, be distingaished throagh the case in which they axe enclosed. The chrysalides of many species have no covering or outer envelope, but are simply attached by bands of silk to some snrfoce. Others are enclosed in thick cocoons, or hidden within rolled-up leaves, or formed in earthen cells several inches ander ground. The pupa state varies in duration from eight or ten days to several months, according to the habit of the species or the seaaou of the year.
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OCTLINEa OF BKTOMOLOOY, 627
The Lepidoptera cannot be bo readily clasaified by tbe beginoer as the bees and beetles, although the primary ftroops are not difQcoIt to 'distiugniah. The first divisioD is into two aectiona or aab-orders: I. BuTTEBFLiES fRhopalocera — clab-horos).
II. Moths fSeterocera — variable horns).
A glance at the antenuie serves to show na to which of these ^onpa an inaect belongs. In the bntterfljea these organa are atilf, thread-like, and either abruptly or gradually enlarged at the tip, so that tbey always terminate in a knob or elub. The anteiiDfe of moths, on tbe other band, do matter what their general form may be, whether feathered or filiform, or spindle-shaped, invariably end in a point, Be- flidea the antenoie there are many other characters which aeparate the insects compoaing these two divisiona. In the butterfliea the body is tiaRftUy amall and Blender in proportion to tbe aize of tbe wings, while in many motha it la stout and clnmay; tbe fore and hind wings of but- terflies are not attached daring flight, while those of moths are held together near the base by a bristle termed a /renvlum on the second- aries, which fits into a loop or socket on the inner margin of the pri- maries. The bntterfiies are diurnal inaects, while moat of the moths fly at night or daring the morning and evening twilight. When at reat butterflies hold the wings, at least one pair of them, erect, irlth the under Burfoces exposed ; the moths on the contrary close the wingB cither flat or roof-like over the body, with the npper pair entirely con- cealing the under pair, except in one family, where both are spread ont.
While an entomologist rarely mistakes a butterfly larva for that of a moth, or vice vena, it is somewhat difScnlt to give a list of the char- acters by which they can be distingnished. The chrysalides of butter- flies are UBually unprotected by any sort of cover or cocoon, and are very angular and irregular in outline, or are brightly colored, while tboBC of moths are protected in coooona of silk, or in rolled leaves, or hidden in the earth, and are mostly smooth and oval or oblong in out- line, and in no inatance display brilliant or metallic colore.
It mast be borne in mind that in entomology the term " moth" is not reatricted to tbe few small inaects that breed in fnra, woolens and eimilar Bubstances, bnt is need to deaignate the greater proportion of the acale-winged inaecta, withoat regard to size or habit. The gigantic Gecropia, whose wings expand about six inches, and whose body is as thick aa one'a finger, is as much a " moth " as ia the tiny oreatuie that aometimea flatters out of cloaets or up from the borders of carpets, to the diatnrbance of the thrifty bouaekeeper.
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STATE HOBTIODLTTTBAL SOCIBTT.
CHAPTER XXI. Order lepidoptbba. Snb-Order R hopaloc bra .
BDrXEBFLlES.
[Fig. Ml
Usckberry bntMrflr, Apaturt-tlflon, wltb lur* tDd cbt7Mlti. Attn miey.
Of all the insect tribes the batterflies are the popalar feiToritee. None of the prejudice with which insects are generally regarded seems to attach to them. Used by the classic writers to symbolize the sonl, they have ever eontinned to be fevorites of the poets, and are associated with whatever is most airily graceful and beaatifol in nature.
The larvie of butterflies feed ezolaaively on vegetation, each species being restricted to one, or at most to two or three kinds of plants. In their general form they do not vary so much as the larvee of moths, being all more or less cylindrical and always possessing the full com- plement of six legs and ten prolegEi. The head, thongh not always large, is qnite distinct, nsnally with a somewhat fretted or stippled snr&ce, and in a few species, adorned with branching horns (see Pig. 336), or spiny tabercles. The snr&ce of the body is in some species smooth and velvety, in others bearing fleshy boms and protuberances or covered with spines.
The pnpee are naked, except in the species constituting one fitmily, where they are slightly enclosed in threads of silk. Tbey are,asamle, very angular, especially toward the anterior end, and are either pendent by the tail, or are supported in an upright position by a baud of silk which the larva, before changing, contrives to weave across its back.
Some of the characters by which butterflies are gronped into families and genera are found in the outline and venation of the wings, the shape of the club of theantennEB and of the palpi, the presence or
0UTLIHB8 OF KHTOMOLOGT. 529
seeming absence of the front pait of legs, and, to a oertMtt extent, in the coloring.
Batterflies have been classified and re-claasifled in Tarioas vaye, by different naturalists, each system based on some ezcellept ideas, bat all more or less defective. The simplest arrangement is that by which tbey are all grouped into four comprehensive families, all of which are nameronaly represented in all parts of the United States. These families are : the Swallow-tails and their allies (Papilionidx), the Brownsand Silver-spots (yYHPHU.lD^), the Little Bines and Coppers (LYCMmDJE,) and the Skippeis (Hbspbridx).
The Swallow-tails (genns FapilioJ are so called from the narrow lobes or tabs into which the outer edges of the lower wings are pro- longed. Among these we find the largest and some of the most bean- tifnl of our native species. Tbey are mostly of dark colors — black or rich brown, ornamented on the wings and body with spots and streaks of bright yellow and orange, with shadings or Instroas reflections of blue or green. The clnb of the antennte is rather small ; the tibiffi of the hind legs have a single pair of spurs, and those of the fore legs at the base a sort of flap covered with long hairs. All the species in the family have six eqaally developed legs. ( See Fig. 32.)
The larvsB are, with one or two ezoeptions, smooth, cylindrical cat- erpillars, often gaily striped or ornamented with eye-lifce spots (see Fig. — ), and possess a distiugnishing character in a Y-shaped scent organ fogmateriumj of an orange color, which can be protruded at will and emits a disagreeable odor. It is used to ftighten away parasitic enemies. This appendage is peculiar to the larvae of the true Papilios, and when the insect is quiet, is completely retracted under the edge of the segment next the head. The larva of Fapilio asteriat feeds on the foliage of carrots, parsley, caraway and other nmbeliferous plants. The chrysalis is marked in wood brown and white, and has the form represented in Fig. 32. The bntterfly is black, with bluish shadings, and is ornamented with several rows of bright yellow dots near the outer edges of the wings. The Tnrnns butterfly (Fapilio tumut, Linn.) is one of the largest and commonest species, expanding over foar inches. It differs from all its congeners in having the ground color of the wings bright yellow, but crossed by broad dashes and streaks of black, and with a black border in which are set Innate yellow spots. The larva is deep green, and abont one and one-half inches in length deep when full grown. The front edge of the second joint and a part of the fifth joint are yellow, and on each aide of the fourth joint are a eouple of small purple spots. The chryaalis is in varioas shades of
H B— 3i
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630 8TATK BOETIOULTUEAX SOCIETY.
browD, in shape mnch like tbat of P. aiterias, but is larger aad hns a more promiaent horo projectioff forward over the head. The larvfe feed on a variety of frait and shade trees, and are sometimes quite destractive/ There are eight or nine yorth American species of Swal- low-tailed bntterflies, besides several . qaite distinct varieties, all of which are very handsome.
The Oarden Whites or Oabbage butterflies (genaa PieritJ include aboat a half dozen species, among which are fonnd several very serioas pests of the vegetable garden. They are of rather small size, expand- ing not more than two inchee, and are all of a dingy white with blackish mar^ns and dastings, or are more or lees thickly spotted with grayish black. The larvte are slender, cylindrical caterpillars with a ragose or velvety snr&ce, and either plain green or with a striped and checkered pattern in dnll green, black, lilac and white.
The Enropean cabbage bntterfly CPierit rapcB, Linn.) was accident- ally introdaced into this ooantry aboat twenty years ago, and has now become natnnilized in almost every section, proving very destmctive to cabbages, tarnips and other crnciferoas plants.
The Snlphnr yellows (genns Goliat) include the medium-sized, gay yellow and black or orange and black bntterflies that are so nnmerous late in spring and early in autumn. Their larvte are of a green color, with a velvety snr&ce, and many of them have a lateral band, com- posed of a line of bright crimson, and one of white, extending &om the second to the eleventh segments. They feed upon clover, Incem and other legaminons plants.
The Browns and Silver Spots composing the family NYHPHALiDiG are called the " four-footed" butterflies, from the apparent absence of the front pair of legs. If carefully examined these members are seen to be folded and closely appressed to the breast, and often have the tarsi undeveloped. The majority of these butterflies are of large size and of dark, rich colors, many species being elegantly ornamented on the ander side of the wings with silvery spots. The larvte of most species have the surface covered with spines or r^sed into humps and prominences. The pnpie are always suspended by the tail and hang head downward. A few of the chrysalides are smooth and casket- shaped, bat the majbrity are characterized by many angles and projec- tions. Ifearly all are 'stadded with golden or gem-like spots, which disappear or lose their luster shortly before the butterfly emerges.
The manner in which these pupie contrive to attach themselves to the point of support is a process so interesting tbat the observer is well repaid for the time expended in watching it. It may be briefly described as follows : The caterpillar, when ready to change, spins a
ODTLINBB OB BNTOMOLOOT. 531
litUe mat or taft of silk apon some cooveoleut anrfitoe. Into this it entaof^Iea the liooks of the hind legs, and loosening ite hold in front and curling up the bead, it eaffers itself to drop and bang by these anal pro-legs. In this position it remains ftom twelve to thirty-six hoors. The skin then bursts open jnst back of the bead, and the anterior end of the ebrysalis is protrnded. By violent exertion, in alternate length- enings and contractions, the larval skin is shoved backward until it forms a shriveled mass near the point of attachment. The crowning effort is now to be made in withdrawing the tail of the chrysalis and fixing it into the little mat of silk prepared for it. The chrysalis, it mnat be remembered, is not yet hard and stiff, bat is capable of con- siderable motion ; accordingly, by a sharp contraction, a portion of the larval skin is firmly grasped between two of the abdominal joints, and with only this slight hold the hinder end of the chrysalis is withdrawn f^om the old skin, and, with a vigoronB tbrast, the little spike,' termed the er«master, with which it is provided, is struck sharply into the tnft of silk. Sometimes the first stroke saffioes to fix it ; in other cases two or three efforts are reqnired, and, occasionally, there is utter foil- ore and the chrysalis drops to the ground. When the ohrysalis is made fast it whirls itself rapidly round and round to detach the larval skin and to more firmly entangle the barbs of tlie oremaater. After this the chrysalis contractu and hardens, and the beantifnl colors which characterize the particular species are displayed.
Among the most beantifnl and moat eaaily recognized genera of the four-footed butterflies may be mentioned Danaia, Argynnia, Apa- tura, Vanessa, Qrapta and Eipparokia. The Archippus butterfly {Danais arokippus, Fabr.) is one of the most common and abundant Bpeciea. The « ing expanse is between four and five inches, the color a bright red-brown with black veins and black border in which are set two rows of white dots. The larva feeds on the milkweed or silkweed f Aseet^piasJ^atuA is elegantly colored in transverse stripes of b1aok,white and yellow, with a pair of black velvety horns on the third and eleventh jointa. The chrysalis is shaped like a lady's ear-drop, and is of a clear green color, ornamented with black and gold.
The Argynois butterflies have broad velvety wings of a tawny orange color, shaded and spotted with dark-brown on the upper sur- face, while the under sides are resplendent with numerous silvery spots. In these species the antennte terminate in a large, roundish knob. The larvte are covered with spines and feed upon violets.
The Hackberry butterflies (genus Apatura) are of a dull brown, mottled with white and black spots. The eggs of A. elyton (see Fig. 33)
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832 STATE HOBTIOni/TTTBAL SOCIETY.
are laid in a mass, and the head of the larva bears a pair of branchiue horns.
la Vanetia the edges of the wings are scalloped and angular in outline. The palpi are large, and project in front of the head like a beak. The beautiful Antiopa butterfly (Vanetta antiopa, Linn), which has deep purple, buff-bordered winga, aud whose larva are very de- Btrnctive to the Lombardy poplar and elm, and the red Admiral ( F. atalanta, Unn), distingaished by broad, orange-red stripes, passing ob- liquely across the upper wings and bordering the outer edges of the lower ones, and whose larvte feed on the nettle, belong to this genes.
The genus Orapta may be recognized by the very jagged outline of the wings. The upper pair, besides being notched, are deeply hollowed out ou the oater edge, and the lower pair are furnished with two short "tails." The upper sar&ce is pale reddish brown, mottled with laiget irregular spots of dark brown. Some species have a narrow border of pale bine. The nnder side is of duller colors, with a single silveiy or golden mark. These butterflies may be popularly termed the "Ponctn- ation" bntterfliee, since, ftom the pnnctnation-like marks ou the under side of the wings, the various species have been named Qrapta comma, Orapta interrogationi*, etc.
The genns Hipparchia contains the "Wood bnttorflies," so named ft-om the &ct of their being usually found in groves and thickets, and also from their wood-brown colors, relieved by eye-like spots.
The fomily Lyo^Hid^ contains the small coppery red and the blue butterflies often seen fluttering about pools of water and muddy places by road-sides.
The larvee feed on grass, are smooth, short and thick, and secure themselves with a loop in an upright position, when about to transform. The genns TkeeJcla may be recognized by the two thread-like tails whicb ornament each of the hind wings.
The Hbspebid^ comprise a large aamber of black and brown, dull-colored butterflies, mostly of small size, and which diflFer in so many respects from the other Bhopalocbba that they seem to fur- nish the connecting link between the true butterflies and the moths. The body is generally short and thick, and in repose only the fore wings are held erect, and these not pressed together, while the hind wings are laid flat upon the back. The antennie end in a little hook, Tbey fly with rapid, jerky njotions, often alighting. Hence they are popn- larly denominated " Skippers." The larvee are spindle-shaped, with a rough surface, a small, distinct neck and a large head, which is usually somewhat heart-shaped and marked with two or more conspicnous spots. They live in caees which they form by folding leaves and &Bt-
OUTLINBB OF BNTOMOLOOT. 533
euing them in place with what look like long stitches of coarae, irhite silk. They leave theii cases at nigbt to feed, and when one case is outgrown tbey coastroct a new one. They change to papfe within their leafy homes and farther enclosed in a lace-like silken cocoon. The chrysalis is smooth and oval, often covered with a fine powder or " bloom," and is saspended by the tail. The Tityms skipper (Euda- ntiu tityruB, Fabr.), the larva of which feeds on the locnst and acacia, is the largest and best known species.
CHAPTER XXII. Order LEPIDOPTERA. Snb-Order Hktbbooeba.
UOTHS.
The moths greatly exceed the batterflles in nnmber of species and iiidividnals and in diversity of size, structure and habit. Among them may be fonnd some (tropica!) species whose expanded wings measure a foot from tip to tip, and others whose wing expanse is scarcely one- eighth inch. Some forms are slender and graceful, and can scarcely be distingnished from butterflies; others, when on the wing, might easily be mistaken for bees or wasps; still others simulate beetles, while a few, destitute of wings, and in some cases of legs also, present the appearance of over-grown maggots or grubs. In the peculiarities of their development, also, the entomologist finds s field of inexhaast.
531 STATE HOETIOHLTDBU. 800IBTT.
ible intereBt, ^d in vhich he learns tnach that can be tarned to prac- tical accoant io his endeBvors to diacorer the best methods of keeping perDicioDB species in check. A general descripti«B of the insects com- posing this sob-order is almost impossible. Almost the only charac- ters common to all are the pointed antennse, the horizontal position of the wings in repose, the rounded or oval and inclosed papa, and, with some exceptions, the nocturnal habit. The moths are very coof eni- ently separated into ten families : Sphinx moths (Sphih aiD^), Clear-wings (^aESiiD^), Bntterfly Mimics (Zyqjehidm), Spinners (BoMBTGiD^), Owlet moths oi Oat-worm moths (NocrruiD^), Span- worm or Measoring-worm moths (Gxohetbid^). Snoot moths (Pysa.- LiD^], Leaf rollers (Tobtbicid^), Fringe-wings or Tineids (Tihbida) and Plame moths or Feather-wings (Ftbbophoeidjb). Of these fitm- ilies the first six are sometimes collectively termed the Macro-lepidop- tera, and the remaining fonr the Micro-lepidoptera.
The ^gerians and Zygsenids are diurnal ; the Sphinx moths are crepuictilar — i. e., flying in the twilight — while all the others are noctur- nal.
The Sphinx moths are so named from a habit of many of the larvae when at rest, of raising the front part of the body and drawing in the head, giving them a foncifal resemblance to the figores of the Sphinx in Egyptian carvings and pictures. They are also called "hawk moths" £rom the strength of their narrow and pointed wings, and "hamming- bird moths" from their manner of hovering over flowers whUe extract- ing the nectar. These moths have stoat, smooth, spindle-shaped bodies, and the fore wings are nearly twioe the length and breadth of the hinder pair, and close roof fashion over the body in repose. The antenne are somewhat thickened in the middle, and in most species end in a hook. The "tongae'' is r^arkably long, often five or six inches, enabling the insects, while on the wing, to reach the deepest nectaries of the flowers for which they have a preference, among which may be mentioned the Dalnras, Petnnias, and other long-tubed blossoms. The larvte are cylin- drical caterpillars with a roaghened or granulated sor&ce, generally of some shade of green, and otten with oblique stripes along each side, and almost always have a pointed horn or an eye-like spot on the top of the twelfth joint. With a few exceptions they enter the gronnd to transform, and some species have an external tongue case which is bent over like a jag-handle in front.
The common tomato or tobacco worm {Sphinx quinguemaculata, Haw.) and the Sphinx caterpillars of the grape vine are good examples of this family. All the species are very voracions and destructive to valuable trees and plants.
OUTLINES OF BNTOHOLOOY. 535
The Clear- winged moths (^qbbiid^) are mostly of small size and might easily be mistaken for bees or small wasps when on the wing, [Fig. 81.]^ They have slender bodies, some-
times ending in a toft of long hairs. ^ In some species only the nnder- vings are transparent, in others there is merely a border of scales aronnd each pair. Among the larvee
such as the Peach-tree borer (^geria exitiom, Say.), the Baspberry borer {jErubi, Biley), and the Pickle worm {Pkakellura nitidalu, Oram). The beautiful insects that I have termed " Batterfly Mimics " (Ztcqmhidm) can scarcely be distingoished from the genntne bntter- dies, except by the pointed antennie, and even these organs sometimes have a little silken tuft near the tip which helps the deception. They delight in the hottent sansbine, and display very gay colors on their broad wings. The larvte are nsaally transversely striped in black and white with an orange-colored hump on the top of the eleventh segment. Some very injurious species are known as the " Blue caterpillars of the vine." When ready to change they enter the ground or bore into the wood of the grape posts.
A.moDg the spinners (Bombyoid.^) are most of our largest and most elegant moths, as well as the few species which are in the highest degree valuable, viz., the silk producers. Some of these species ex- pand from six to nine inches. The wings are broad, and sometimes faleate: i. e., hollowed oat at the outer edges. They ore densely cov- ered with hairs and scales of rich colors. The head is small, and the antenofe beautifully feathered, and are in some species so broad as to ^'S' ^- , be mistaken for an additional
pair of wings. The month parts are undevelpped, and, large as they are, these moths are inca- pable of taking even a sip of nectar. The body is stoat and heavy, and the plumy legs rather
>weak. The magnificent Oeoro- pia moth (Samia ceoropia, Linn) or the Polyphemus (Telea poly- phemm, Oram.) — named for the fobled one - eyed monster of III.. Frtr ) classic poetry, beeanse of the '"""'"■" great eye-like spot that onia-
536 STATE HOBTICULTUKAL SOCIETT.
TDentfi each hind wing — occseionall; enter lighted rooma on summer Dights ; bat, as a rule, the mothe of this family are not mach attracted by light. The most delicately beaatifnl of oor •native species is the Lnna moth fActia» Ivna, Linn.), which is of a pale green color with an eye spot at the end of the discal cell in each wing, and the hind wings extended at the outer edges into lobes or tails sometimes one and one- balf inches long. The fnll grown larvfe of these species are immeose caterpillars, nsoally of a green color, sparsely hairy and stodded with wart-like tubercles of brilliant colors, or bear, near the head, from one to six long, spiny horns that give them a most formidable aspect.
The invaloable and interesting Chinese silk-worm fBombyx mart, Linn.) is a near relative of the apeoiea named above. It ie of a blnish or creamy white, with a few more or less distinct brown markings. The surface is smooth, except for a few ridges and wrinkles on the thoracic joints and a small pointed horn on the top of the eleventh joint. All these species are very vorocions, and feed for from foor to six weeks.
The native spinners are often quite destrnctive to varione kinds of fruit and shade trees, while tbe Chinese silk-worm thrives best on the White mulberry, but may be grown successfully on the Osage orange, and, in the Southern States, it is said to feed on Alfolfo. The silk gland, lying along tbe under side of the body, is very large in all the typical Bombycids, and secretes a quantity of viscid fluid, which upon being drawn oat through the spineret on the labium, forms fine threads of the exquisite substance known as nlk. Of this the larv» form thick oval, or slender, oblong cocoons, weaving layer over layer until about half tbe substance of the caterpillar is transformed into the covering for the pupa. In the latter stage our native species hibernate, but the imported species cuts its way out in about two weeks, appearing as a rather small, white moth, whose weak wings are incapable of sup- porting it in flight. The female lays a quantity of eggs, and by means of these the species is carried over winter.
Among the most interesting species of Bombycids are the singular forms termed " slug caterpillars."
In these the feet are bat slightly developed, and the insect moves with a snail-like glide, over a le^ or other surface, by means of ridges on tbe under side, leaving a slimy track behind it. Some have a rectangular shape with several fleshy prominences on the back, others are almost circular, or of the shape of a beech nut. Some are adorned on top with a double row of plumy spines.
Nearly all ore brightly colored, or have tbe colors displayed in peculiar and beantifal patterns. Great care must be exercised in
OUTLINES OP BNTOHOLOQT. 637
hsDdliag them, as the hairs sod spineB inflict a nettle-like atiof;. Qnite a namber of species included among the spinners do not secrete silk, and change to papse nnder gronud in a te^ earthen cell. Among these is the Green-striped Maple worm fDryoeatnpa rubicunda, Fab.), (see Fig. 36), which is occasionally very destmctive to the shade trees from which it derires its name.
The Oat-worm moths or Owlet moths (yooTuio^) are a rery extensive group of medinm sized insects, mostly of plain clors, hot containing a few very gaily decked species.' The body is rather thick and heavy, the fore wings narrow, and in repose entirely cover the hind wings, which are folded beneath them. The head is small, the antennae simple (thread-like), the tongoe long, and the eyes in many cases hairy or encircled by hairs.
The thorax is often crested or tn^d, with long, erect scales. The upper wings, whatever their color and markings, display two more or less distinct spots, the one coand, the other kidney-sbaped f orbicu- lar and reniformj. The trae cnt-worms are smooth, dingy-colored caterpillars, many of which commonly rest in a coiled position. They conceal themselves by day and crawl oat by night to their work of destrnetion, cutting off not only tender herbaceous vegetation, but ascending trees and vines to nip off the yonng leaves. When ready to transform, these " worms " barrow into the earth or conceal them selves under rubbish on its surface, bat never spin any regular cocoon.
The well-known Army worm fLeuoania unipvncta, Haw.), whioh sometimes devastates numerous grain fields in a single march, is one of the representatives of this group. So, also, is the wide-spread Oom worm or BoU worm (HeliotkU armigera. Hub.) See Fig. 34. The large moths of the genas Oatocala, easily recognized by their gaily banded ander-wings, in which scarlet, crimson, orange or white alternates with black, are also incladed in the family S'octuid^.
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S38 BTATB HOBTIOCLTURIL SOOIBTT.
The Span-worm nc. sr.
moths (Gbomet- t BiD^) are mostly' of pale, delicate colors, with slen- der bodies,broad thin wings, which in repose are spread ont at light angles &om the body, and by the Qsnallyslight- ly or broadly feathered anten- nee. In this fam- ' ily the females are sometimes wingless. The larva are called "Measarin
worms" Or"6pan remS«7"i!^^'MW »cqQlri"wlnBiT i
worms" from their looping mode of crawling. This is necessitated by the lack of two or three pairs of the abdominal pro-legs, so that in crawling the hinder end of the body is brought np close to the bead at every onward motion. These worms are generally long, slender and oyliudrical. Some have bnd-Iike or scale-like hnmps on the body, so that when the tatter is at rest and held ont from a branch in an obliqne direction, it simnlates a twig so closely as to escape recognition. In preparing for transformation, these larvte either enter the gronnd or enclose themselves in thin cocoons in some concealed spot. Among the pernicious species we find the Apple and Elm tree Canker worms (Anisopteryx vemata, Har., and A. autumnalia, Pack.), and the Lime tree Winter moth (Hybemia UUari, Har.) See Fig. 37.
The Snout moths (Fyralidcd) are much like many of the Geometers in general appearance, bat may nsnally be distinguished from them by their smaller size and the long, slender palpi, which are held close to- gether and project in front of the bead like a beak. Some of the larvse are leaf-rollers ; others feed on meal or in clover hay, while others are true "grass worms" and do much damage to meadows and pastnres.
The true leaf-rollers (Tortrioidce) are a family of small moths, many of which are richly and beantifnlly colored. They are chantcterized by the oblong form of tiie upper wings, which, in repose, are folded
, 0DTLINB8 OF BNTOMOLOGY. 638
roof-like over the body. The eyes are large, the aotenn^ filiform, the palpi broad, tafted and somewhat triangalar. The larvae are usually rather soft, plainly colored worms with a heart-shaped head, a distinct biirsy collar, and horny plate on top of the laet joint. The great ma- jority conceal themselves within leaves varionsly twisted and rolled, from which habit the groap derives its name. A few species feed on fruit, among which the aniversal apple enemy, the Codling moth fOar- pooopsa pomonella, Linn.), is the most uotorloas.
The Fringe-wings (Tinbid^) include the smallest insects in the Order. They have slender, lanc^- shaped wings, bordered by long fringes, and many of them are exquisitely colored in varione metallio and prismatic tints. The antenofe are simple, and nsaally nearly as long as the body. The palpi vary in form, bat are, as a rule, long and conspicuous, in many species curving apward in front of the head. The larvae are often leaf-miners or case-bearers. Others are destrac tive to &nit or grain, or feed upon feathers, fars and wool, being the '^clothes moths," against whose ravages it is necessary to protect some of our costliest apparel.
The Feather- wings or Plume moths ( Ptbeophoeid^ ) have the wings cleft so that each appears composed of several feathers. They are small insects, only one or two of which are seriously destructive, as for example the Grape-vine Plame.
CHAPTER SXIII. Order IV. diptera.
[Fig. »8.)
Tkohloafly (Lydtlla doryrhirra) Rll^.
In this Order are grouped the insects that have bnt a single pair of wings, and a few others that have no wings at all. They are popa-
D.-inz'i:;!.', V^H_'V_V
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840 STATE HOBTICULTUEAL 800IBTT.
I&rl; diatiugaiBhed as flies. Althoagh many flies, in the larva state, are audoabtedly Dsefnl as scavengers, yet the perfect insects are, most of them, so annoying, and often so positively injarlons, that the entire Order is regarded with much disfavor. Mosqnitos, gnats, honee-tiies, gad-flies and other species frequently occar in such immeDse svaims ID oertoin localities as to render life almost intolerable. A few species are brilliantly colored, or of striking size or form, but, as a rale, the members of this division are the most inditidnally inconspicnoas of insects.
The bodies of most flies are soft and fragile. Tbe head is asntUly largs, roand or hemispherical, often quite concave behind, and is at- tached to the thorax by a peg-like neck, on which It can be twirted almost completely aronnd without being separated from the body. The eyes are, except in a few very lowly organized species, very large, cov- ering the greater part of the head, and their faceted stmcture can be seen even without the aid of a lens. Tbe moatb-parts are very diflier- ently developed in the different Samilies, bat are all peculiarly fitted for sipping fluids. In the hoQse'fly the jaws and true maxillee are wanting, but the secondnry maxills and the lower lip form a proboscis which ends in a pair of broad flaps, whose ridged surface enables the insect to lap ap sweet fluids or the perspiration from tbe hand, or the jaioes of meat or other liquids to which it is attracted. When not in use, the proboscis being jointed, is folded up and fits into a groove in tbe fbce. The so-called "stinging flies" have the jaws modifled into very sharp lancets, which are so- strong that they are capable of piercing even the thick skin of a horse and drawing tbe 6lood. The antepnfe are either short and stoat, having but three joints and a bristle, or are many- jbinted, long and feathered, as in the mosquito. Tbe thorax is large and round, the flrst and third segments — pro-thorax and meta-thorax — being very small and closely consolidated above with the meso-thorax, which is large and mascnlar. The wings are composed of thin, trans* parent or amoky membrane supported by strong veins. They can be vibrated with exceeding swiftness, and the insects are capable of longer and more continnons flights than any of the foar-winged species. At the base of each wing is a little roandish scale called the winglet or alutet, the ose of which has not yet been discovered. The bind wings are represented by two thread-like organs ending in little knobe, which are the kalteres, poUera or balaneert, whose fanction is likewise an- known. The legs are generally rather weak and slender, and in some species are very long. Tbe feet are five-jointed, and besides the claws, are provided with a bilobed cushion clothed' with microscopic hairs
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OUTLINBH OF ENTOMOLOGY. Sil
from which exudes a. sticky fiald, by meftDs of which the iDsect is eu< abled to walk np and down the panes of a window or along the ceiling of a room. The old, Ingenions theory of "the exbanstion of air noder its feet," by which the crawling of a fiy on sncfa sarfaces used to be explained, is now known to Ite erroneoas. In the abdomen of tbe stonter-bodied flies it is difficult to distiugnish more than four seg> meuts, tbe terminal ones being abruptly narrowed and drawn within the body to form the ovipositor.
Such flies as the house-fly and the gad-fly are on the wing and troublesome only dnnng tbe day. Others, like the mosquito, are most active at night, while some are equally tormenting during the entire twenty-foar hoars.
The transformations of dipterous insects are complete. The eggs are deposited singly or in masses upon the solids or fluids upon which the luTCB feed. Those of many species are smooth and white and of a linear oblong shape.
The larvae of terrestrial flies are called maggoU. They are soft, thin-skinned, cylindrical, and taper most toward the head, or ratbei the mouth, for but few of them have any distinct head. They have no legs or other organs of locomotion, and wriggle from place to place by a peculiar twisting of the body, or, as in the case of the " cheese skip- pers," they coil themselves up and seize the tail between the jaws, and then by suddenly letting go, jerk themselves to great distances by the rebound.
Aquatic larvffi are furnished with fln-like swimming organs, and some species breathe through long tubes situated on the posterior end of the body, which can be elevated above the sur&oe of the water. Many dipterous larvie are parasitic ; others feed upon decaying animal or vegetable matter; those which are aquatic subsist on organic im- purities of water, and a considerable proportion feed on the tissues of growing plants. Except in the case of some aquatic species, the pupie are inactive. They are of two forms: eoarotate, that is, inclosed in tbe dry and hardened larva skin, or obteoted, with the larva skin thrown off, and the rudimentary members of the mature insect separately en- cased, as in the pupte of Hymenoptera and Ooleoptera. Tbe pupa state is generally of short doration. The Diplera may be considered under two sub-orders ;
I. Orihobapha, in which the obteoted pnpa escapes from the larval skin through a cross slit or T-shaped opening between the seventh and eighth joints; and
II. Oyolobapha, including mostly coarctate pnpie, from which the perfect fly escapes through a circular hole on top of the puparinm.
M2 . BTA.TE HOBTI0DI.TnBAL 80CIBTT.
Each of tfaeie divieiODS oontaiiiB mftoy bmilies vbicb differ in mftoy pointB of stractnre aod habit. TtVill be possible here to refer only to those which ioclade the species most commonly met with, and of most importance ^om an economic standpoint. Id the first we find the Gall-gnats and ffrain-flies (Ceoidomtid^). These are all small species, which are it^Qrions to vegetation. They have slender bodies and long antennfe^ which are often plamy. The wings have three or foor veins, extending from base to onter margin, and are asnally fringed aronnd the edge. The lalteres are long and ronnd-knobbed, and the legs long and slender. The gall-making species place their eggs upon leaves or tender stems, into the tissues of which the larvie work their way, cansing hy irritation, pecnliar fleshy or woody swell- ings. On this abnormal vegetable tissoe the larvie feed. The latter are minute maggots, often of a pale red color, with a pecatiar, clove- sbaped dark mark on the nnder side near the head, which can be clearly diBtingnished only by the ^d of a lens.
The Hessian fly {Oecidomsia dettruetor, Say.) and the Wheat-midge {Diplotw tritioif Kirby) are the most notoriously destructive of these gnats. The larvfe of the former are flesh-colored maggots, which are found beneath the sbeaths of the lower joints of the wheat stalk in au- tumn and early spring, and which dwarf and sometimes entirely kill the plant by extracting the sap from the tender stems. In the change to pupa, the larval akin hardens and turns brown, forming a "flax-seed"- like puparium, within which the transformations take place.
The Wheat-midge la a tiny, orange-colored fly which places its eggs on the young heads of wheat, from which the red maggots extract the juices and cause the kernels to shrivel.
The Bnffalo-gnatfi (SiMULiD^) are short, thick species with a very rounded thorax, short anteuDEc and strong mouth parts, capable of drawing blood from cattle and mnlea as well as from man. At certain seasons of the year they are an almost insupportable pest on the shores of the northern takes and in the south, along the principal water- courses. The larvte breed in water and have a singular feathery gill at the hinder end.
Mosqoitos (Gdligid^) are characterized chiefly by the complex month parts, which are projected straight forward in front of the head. The beak or eling of the female mosquito — for the males are Inoffen- sive creatures, that neither aing nor »ting — when closely examined, is seen to consist of a bundle of flue bristles, seven in number, which to< gether form a sharp-poiuted tube by which the akin of map and the larger animals ia pierced, and through which a minute portion of poisoD from a gland in the pro-thorax is forced into the wound, before or after
OUTLINES OF BITTOMOLOQT. 54 3
the blood has bees dravo. Tbe montli parts of the male moeqaito are not so long, and are adapted to sipping the nectar of flowers instead of the sangninary nourishment preferred by his partner. The eyes are very large and somewhat obloog. Tbe antennee are plamy in both sexes, bot those of the male are much more ornamental than those of the female. The thorax is considerably humped and the bind body long and slender. The legs are also very long and thin. The wings are fringed on the edge and the principal veins are outlined by fine scales. The eggs are laid in a boat-shaped mass on the snrface of still water, and the larvee are the well-known "wrigglers" so often seen in standing water. They swim by the aid of ansymmetricidly arranged tnfls of bristles, and breathe throagh a tube at the hinder end of the body, which they freqaently project above the surface of the water. The pupsB do not take any nourishment, but are active, olnb-heoded aBiiirs which swim by means of the two paddles in which the abdomen terminates. There are a ^eat'many species of these venomoas gnats, some of which are strictly nocturnal while others are equally active day and night. Oulex dliatui, Fab. is perhaps the most generally dis- tributed species.
The Orane-flies (Tipulid^) resemble mosquitoes in general ap- pearance, but many species are from five to ten times the size of the latter. They have no sting and are not injurious in anyway. The larvEB breed in soil that is rich in decaying organic matter, and there- fore often emerge from flower-pots and hot-beds. They also occur in mould and other fangi, and in water.
Gad-flies or Breeze-flies (Tabanid^).— In this and the two follow- ing fiamilies of the Orthorapha, the antennffi ai-e short and three-Jointcid. The 0«d-flies or Horse-flies are shaped much like the hoase-fly, bat are very much larger, The month parts are very strong and awl-shaped, and the bite is very painful. There are several species, of which the "Green-head fly" fTabanut Uneola, Fabr.) and the large black Horse- fly fT. atratus Fabr.) are exceedingly annoying to horses daring tbe summer months, their sharp stabs and their menacing buzz driving the animals into a frenzy, and not infrequently causing them to run away.
The Mottled Breeze-fly, a somewhat smaller species, mottled in a dirty white and brown, is more especially injurious to horn cattle. The larvee are aquatic or semi-aquatic, and those that have been described are glossy, greenish or yellowish "wqims," with a row of rounded tabercles on each side, and taper to a very small bead. The pnpfc.are lidged or roaghened on the abdominal joints, and formed in tbe gronnd.
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544 BTATB HOBTIOULTUBAL BOCIETY.
The Bobber-fiioB (Asilid^) have long, Blender bodieB and wings, and Bpiny, long, stont legs. The beak ie short bat atrong, and the ander lip well developed. The e;eB are almoBt globolar, and the anteouffi short, often tipped with a bristle. The body is asuallj hairy, varying in length from one to two inches, and tapera toward the tip. The eolors are mostly black and while, thongh some species have the thorax clothed with yellow hairB. In their perfect state, the Bobber-flies are fierce and greedy cannibals, especially destmctive to the honey-bee, of which one species has been known to kill and sack the vital Jaices of more than one hundred and forty in a day, according to Dr. Packard. They sometitnes make amends, however, by preying on the Cabbage batterfly, though T fear this has not yet become a very general habit. The larvae live in the ground, and those that have been studied have fed upon roots.
The Bee-fiies (Bombylid^) resemble small Humble bees in their thick, hairy bodies. They are very swift on the wing, and are often fonndion flowers, ftom which they extract nectar with the long pro- boscis. The larvie are parasitic on bees and on the eggs of locusts (grasshoppers).
Id the Sob-Order Gtclobapha. we find a large nnmber.of families of flies whose larvse are parasites or scavengers and a few that feed on vegetation, among which are some common gall-makers also some that live in water. The transformations take place either nndergionnd or on the sur&ces upon which the laryiB fed — the larval skin thickening and hardening into an oblong case, within which the soft, white pupa is formed. The flies always come out through a round hole on the top. They usually have rather short, thick bodies, broad heads and short antennie, ending in a bristle. The following fomiUes contain the species that are moat directly beneficial or injurious to man: Syrphus flies (Stbfhid^). See Plate of Orders.) This is a group of handsome flies, ranging in size from small to medium (having a body length of from one-fifth to one-half inch). The colors are often arranged in bright bands, giving the insects quite a wasp-like appearance. The front of the face has no groove for the reception of the antennfe, which have the last joint much thickened just back of the bristle. The larvfe are legless and headless, leech-like creatures, which do us great service in destroying all kinds ot plant-lice { ApkididceJ, and may almost always be found in the colonies of the latter, which they very rapidly exterminate. The great minority of the beneficial species are fonnd in the genas Syrphus. Their transformations are very easily observed, aa they are hardy and develop rapidly.
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OUTLINES OF BNTOHOLOOT. 545
The eingalar " rat -tailed " larvte, often foand in stagaaiit pools or other foal water, piodnce hairy flies of the genns Eri»tali».
Bot-diee ((£btbid^) are stont, hairy iusects, much resembling small Humble bees. The month ports are bat slightly developed, and the small antedufe, hidden in little caviliee in the very narrow face, seem, at first glance, to be wanting. They are chiefly interesting from the habite of the larvffi, which live in the stomachs of horses, in the heads of eheep, and on the backs and other parts of the bodies of cattle and other animals, causing great snGrering and sometimes even death to the poor creatures infested. The Botrflies of the horse fQaatrophilua egui, Fabr.) lay their eggs on the horse's front legs or on the flanks or hips, glaeing them most flrmly to the hairs. The larvte, which are hatched very shortly, prodnoe an irritation which indnoes the horse to bite at those parts, and by this means they enter tl^e month and make their way into the stomach. There they attach themselves, by means of month hooks, to the lining membrane, feeding on the macns and diges- tive flnids, occasionally penetrating to the mnsonlar tissne, caosing mnoh irritAtion and pain, and, when very nnmetoos, prodacing danger- ous fever and weakness. When full grown, the "bots" pass out with the excrement and burrow into the earth, from which the flies issue in six or seven weeks. The Sheep bot-fly f (Egtrua ocia, Linn.) deposits its larvie, already hatched, In the nostrils of the sheep, which immediately work their, way into the nasal cavities and frontal sinus of the head and attach themselves to the walls, producing the disease known as ''grub in the head," from which sheep so commonly suffer and not infrequently die. When these maggots are full grown they drop from the nostrils to the ground, beneath the snrface of which they transform.
The Ox bot-fly [Bipodertna bovis, De G«er) is a similar, but larger species, which canses tumors on the backs of cattle, usually laying its eggs on parts which the creature cannot conveniently reach with its tongue. The larvie, termed " warbles," burrow beneath the skin and cause very disfiguring and painfnl swellings.
The Tachina flies (Taohinid^e) are stout, dark-colored, bristly flies, which deserve to be held in the highest estimation on account of the parasitic habits of all the larvie, which feed in the bodies of nu- merous destructive caterpillars and grabs, and greatly reduce the numbers of these pests. The small, oval, ivory-white eggs are laid, sometimes singly, sometimes two or three in a cluster, on the back of the caterpillar or other insect, often Just behind the head, in order to be safe from the jaws of the victim. These eggs adhere so flrmly that
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646 STATB HOBTIOULTUEAL BOOIBTT.
it ia impossible to remove tbem entire. The larve, immediately npoii hatching, penetrate the skin of the insect and feed upon the DOD-rital parts, BO that, as a rale, the infested specimen is able to enter tbe gronud or to spin its cocoon before it is killed by the parasite. The transformations of the latter then take place, and the dies appear very shortly, or, in other cases, hibernate with the remains of tbeir host and emerge io'the spring, at the season when fresh victims are most nnmer- ODS. Army worms and all cut-worms, varions spinners and sphinxes, graasbopperg, tbe larvte of tbe Colorado potato-beetles and many other pesta are destroyed by them. See Pig. 38.
House-flies, blow-flies, etc. (Huseidce). No family of insects are more familiar to ns than the principal members of this gronp. At almost any season of the year the student can obtain a fresh specimen for examination, since many indivldaals of the common hoose-fly, and also of the meat-fly, contrive to secnre winter quarters in our warm sitting-rooms and pantries. In these insects the greater portion of tbe head is occupied by the eyes, which are, in some species, quite brightly colored. The short antennse are plumy or sparingly bristled; ibe labrum is elongated into a jointed proboscis, terminating in a pair of broad, sucker-like flaps, which have their ridged inner surfaces closely pressed together when not in nse, but are spread out when lapping np liquids, as may be easily observed in the House-fly. Other species have the proboscis terminate in miuote lancets. The body. is sparingly clothed with stiff bairs, and is either of a dnll black and white or gray color, or, as in the "Blue-bottles " or green meat-flies, it is of a dark metallic bine or green. The wings are transparent, tbe legs rather stouter than in other flies and more or lees hairy. The eggs are soft, pearl-white and slender-oblong, deposited singly or in little bundles or masses. The larvte are Boft> white or whitish maggots, some of them elongate- conical, thick and blunt at the hinder end and tapering to a point in f^nt ; others are slender and cylindrical ; most of them have a smooth or somewhat ridged surface, bat a few are hairy. Those of the Hoose-fly (Muaoa domeatica, Linn.) breed mainly in horse manare. Another species which also breeds in stables and barn-yards is the Lancet-fly (Stomoxya caloUraus, Linn.) It is scarcely to be distin- guished from tbe common Honse-fiy, except that when crawling or at rest the wings are held more apart and the proboscis is more slender and terminates in a point instead of a pair of fleshy lips. It bites severely and is very tronblesome to horses end cattle, nor does it hesi- tate, upon occasion, to draw human blood. It is most abandant late in snmmer and in early aatamn.
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OUTLINES OF BNTOMOLOaT. M7
Still another plague of the herds has recently appeared in this oonntry as an immigrant from Europe. This is the Hom-fly (fftBmiUih bia terrata, Bob. — Des). From the acoouots of Dr. Biley of Washing- ton, and other eastern entomologists, we learn that it is a dark species, mach smaller than the house-fly, bat otherwise much like it, which has the habit of settling in swanns on the necks, shoulders, and around the bases, of the boms of cattle. It punctures the skin with its horny beak and draws the blood, so worrying the poor animals that tbey be- come reduced in flesh, and cows fail to give the nsaal quantity of milk. The flies lay their eggs on the fresh 'droppings of the cattle, in which the larvee breed.
The large hairy "Blne-bottJe" Hj fMuieaeceiar, Linn. J, and the amaller Green " Meat-fly " fOatiphora erytkro cepkalOy Meig.), are well. koowQ species which give much trouble to meat dealers and house- keepers.
The Screw-worm fly (Lvcilia maceUaria, Fabr.) has occasionally proTed fotal to human life by laying its eggs in wounds or iu the nostrils of persons who were sleeping in the open air. It occurs in the South- western States, where it is a great plague on cattle.
The family Tbtpbtid^s includes a number of veiT pretty flies, which have the wings variegated with smoky-brown spots and bands. Many of these flies are gall-makers on various weeds, and are not especially injurious. One, however (Trypeta pomonella, Walsh.), is the parent of the Apple maggot, which has, in some of the Eastern States, proved very destmctive to apples, rivaling, and in some instances ex- ceeding, the damage done by the Codling moth.
The Onion fly (Tritoxa fiexa, Wied.) is sometimes quite injurious to growing onions. It has dark, oblong wings, crossed by three curving white bands. It is now placed in the family Obtalid^s.
In the PioPHiLiD^ we And the Cheese fly (Piophila catei, Linn). The family Dbosphilid^ inolndes several small species that attack ripe and preserved fruits. In Obcimid^ are a few species injurious to Rowing grain. Meromyza amenoana, Fitch., burrows in the tender stalks.
A third Sab-Order (Pufifaba) has been grouped with the more lowly organized Dipteia, although the usually minute insects composing it are not much like the typical flies. These are the Sheep- tick fMelophagus ovinut, Linn.) and the Horse tick fHippoboaca equina Linn.), which is the only winged species. Others, very minute, are the Bat-ticks and Bee-lice.
The Fleas also have many affinities with flies, and may here be con- sidered in connection with them ; yet most authors now class them in a
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548 STATE HOBTICULTUBAL SOCIETY.
small Beparat« Order — S IPHONAPTEBA. They are bard, thick, wiDglesB creatures, having the body cotopreased at the sidee and sparsely hairy. Id place of the nsnal compoand eyes they have two ocellL The pointed head is armed with backward pointiDK teeth. The legs are stoat, with the thighs greatly thickened, giviDg them their wonderfnl leaping power. The eggs are scattered aboat in nutidy haman dwellings, dog kennels aad the like, and the slender maggot- like larvae feed in the dnst and organic particles that accamalate in the cracks of floors, under rags and similar hiding places. When ready to transform the larvae enclose themselves in silken cocoons. Thehatnaa flea is Pulex irritant, Linn., while P. eanis, Dag., affects the dog and cat. The tropical "jigger," "chigoe" or "chiqne" fSareopaglta pene- trant) is the pest-of hot, sandy regions, but mast not be confounded with a small tick — a species of mite — that occurs further north, and also burrows into the skin and causes sores, and which is likewise often called a "jigger."
CHAPTER XXIV. Order V. HEMIPTBBA.
**mi ^ ^
This Order derives its name fl:om a componnd Greek word signi* fying half-wing, and refers to the half membranons, half-leathery (cori- aceons) strnctnre of the wings of many of the representatives. It con- tains the only insects that may, vith perfect accuracy, be called bugs. The term "bug," so generally bnt incorrectly applied to many kinds of insects, is supposed to have had its origin in the word "bugbear," as something ft-ightfal or dangerone, and it is most fitting that, correctly - used, it should refer to the division which includes such insects as the bed-bag, lonse and similar objects of dread and disgust.
ODTLINBS OP BNTOHOLOOY. 619
The iasectB of this Order display great ditfereuoes of form aod habit, bat as all Babeist Bolely on liqaid noariBtiineat, extracted f^m living pl&Dta or animals, all the principal repreeentativee agree per- fectly in the 8tractiu« of the moatb. This coaaista of a strong, three or foar-jointed beak, which is a modifloation of the anderlip into a channeled brace in which rest two pairs of ver; flue bristles, corres- ponding to the two pairs of jawe, the combination being an admirable arrangement for piercing and sacking. (In some of the more lowly organized memberB of this Order, there is no horny-jointed beak, bat the front of the head is merely elongated, forming a sucker-like cap provided with minute biting organs.) The upper Up (labrum) is con- solidated with the lower part of the face to form a strong sapport to the developed month parts. The eyes are large and ronnd, in some cases brightly colored, and two ocelli may be distjngaisbed in many species. The antennte are nsnally thread-like or bristle-like, in some cases quite long, with the terminal joints slightiy enlarged.
In their general form the Hemiptera are among the most variable of insects. Some have the body almost hemispherical, others are thick and square or oblong, while others stJIl are very lone ftnd slender. There ia no general plan on which the joints of the thorax are devel- oped, some having the pro-thorax crowded down out of sight from the upper side, while in others it is very large and conspicuous. The meso- tborax is nsnally the least variable division, except as to the acntellum, which is sometimes so large as to extend backward almost to the Up of the abdomen. The six legs are always present and the feet are three- jointed; some terminate in a very distinct claw or pair of clawa with CQshious [pulvillii between them, while in others these appendages can- not be distingaiehed. The npper wings, sometimes termed kemeljftray in the typical bugs lie flat upon the back, the transparent or trans- lucent tips overlapping, appearing as though crossed in the middle. In other forms they are altogether membranous or coriaceous, and fold roof like over the body.
In this and the remaining Orders the transformations are asually inoomplete, the pupa being as aclive and as voracious as the larva or the perfect insect. These Orders are termed inferior, not only on acconat of the leas distinct metamorphosis, but also because of the many lowly organized forms which they include.
Hemipterists are not agreed as to the primary aabdivislons of the Order, some finding it more convenient to consider the various forms under three Sab-Orders, while others find it necessary to define five.
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660 BTiTK HOETIODLTUEAL BOCIETT.
Ab two of these include bnt few species of general interest, we shall here consider bnt three :
I. Trne Bags (SolvOrder Hbibbopthba). TI. Ha^Tes^flies, Leaf-lioppetB,««A.(Snb-Order H o h o pt B ba). III. Lice(SQfo-OrdetPABAsiTA).
CHAPTER XXY. Order hEHIPTEBA. Sab-Order Hbteboptbbi..
PBINCIPAL FATiIILIES OF TBDB BUQ3.
RapaolouB SoliUei-bug (Rtdtmiiu mplalaHiu, Sajr.)— afwt Blley.
The insects in this Snb-Order always have the head horizontal — namely, on a plane with the body, with the beak arising from the front. The fonn of the head ia somewhat flattened and triangnlar, attached to the thorax by a broad base or by a very short neck. The thorax from above does not present any striking pecnllarities, except in the varying size of the scatetlnm ; on the nnder side, however, of a large miyority of the species are two small openings, connected with an internal scent gland that emit a vUe and persistent odor — one of the chief cbancter- istibs of these insects, familiar to the fiu^er in the smell of the chinch- bug and sqnashbng, and to the honsekceper in that of the bedbng. The wing-covers show considerable variety in coloring and in the relative size of the opaque and transparent portions. The hind wings are veined somewhat like those of beetles, and afford no characters ased in claseiflcation. The eggs of many bags are conspicaous for their beaaty, making amends, in some measnre, for the deficiencies of most of the perfect insects in this respect. Some of them can only be compared to strings or clasters of tiny beads of the pnrest gold ; others are bronzed or reflect prismatic colors; others, again, are re- markable for their graceful shapes or for their elaborate ornamentation in what appears like filigree work. Instead of larrie, the immatnre
OUTLIME8 OP BNTOMOLOaY. 651
bogs are termed ni/mphiE, aud after the third molt the radiments of the wingB begin to show, there being two stages coneaponding to the papie of the higher Orders. These nymphee are often qnite differently col- ored from the mature insects.
A convenient division of the Heteroptera is into three aectious: Terrestrial bngs, Amphibious bugs and Aquatic bags.
The Terrestrial bngs may be again divided into Plant-eaters and GaonibalB.
Plant-eating bngs have a more slender beak than those that prey on other insects, or draw the blood of larger animals, bat are otherwise not very different ftom tbem. The most important Families are : OoB- EiD^, Ltq^id^, Capsid^ and OoBIM^ud^, Inclusive popular names are difficult to suggest for these groups.
The first of these families is best represented by the well-known Sqnasb-bng {Anasa trittity DeOeer). (See bug on plate.) This is a me- dium-sized, oblong, dingy-brown insec', paler beneath, with the head marked on top with two dull black stripes.' The antennie are aboat half the length of the body and rather stoat ; the feet are three-jointed. The young are dull green or yellowish, much broader in proportion than the perfect insect. This Is one of tbe most universal and serioas peiits of melon, oncnmber and squash vines. Some very large and striking species belonging in this fomily occar in the Sonthern states.
The Lyg^id^ is a large group of rather small bogs which are gaily or contrastingly colored, among which we find the pernicious Chinch-bug {Bliaaua leueopterua, Say). Few farmers, especially in the Western tjtates, have escaped a costly acquaintance with this insect^ which is one of the chief enemies of cereal crops, particularly of wheat and Indian corn. Tbe perfect bug is of oblong form, aboat one-eigbtb inch in length and of clear black and white color. The yellow eggs ore laid in tbe spring upon tbe roots or base of tbe stalk of wheat or other grain, and from these hatch myriads of pale-red yonng, which by their punctures soon dwarf and deaden the plant. Althoagh the perfect in- sects have ample wings, they seldom rise into the air, and mostly per- form their emigrations from field to field on foot. The false Chinch-bag [Nysiut destructor, Biley) is rather smaller than its namesake, and less strikingly marked, being of a shaded grayish brown color. It is very injurious in certain sections of the conntry to grape-vines, potatoes, radishes and a number of other plants.
As the most familiar example of the family Oapsid^, tbe Tarnished Plant' bug (Lygua lineolarU, Beaur.) may be instanced. This species is one-fonrtb inch in length, of fiat, oblong form, with foiir-jointed anten- na, the joints being long. It varies in color &om yellowish gray to
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652 STATE HOBTICULTVRAli SOOIETT,
ocbreooB browD, has a yellow T-sbaped mark on the Bontel, and two or three parallel dark veins on eacb wing cover. The larvee of these bags are green, and broad oval in form. They may be foaud daring^ gammer in great abandance in all stages of development apon flowers. They injure frait trees in the spring by ponctaring the leaf and flower bads and the tender twigs and sacking the sap. They also feed on berries, to which they impart a flavor as nanseons as their odor.
Another ahnndant member of this family is the Fonr-Uned Leaf- bng fPweiloeapsug lineatuaj. This is somewhat larger than the pre- ceding species, is of a deep yellow color, ornamented with foar black lines, extending the whole length of the body. It feeds on various shmbs and herbaceous plants, and is at times seriously destructive to currant bashes, clover and other valuable plants.
The GOKIMEL^NID^ contains bat a single genus, the "^egro-bugs" fOorimelcmaJ, small, shining, almost round, beetle-like insects of a black color, sometimes with blaish or greenish reflections. The great peculiarity is the depth of the scutellum, which extends backward so far as to entirely cover the wings. These little bugs are sometimes very destructive on strawberry beds and on the foliage of varioas flowering plants. They also have a great predilection for ripe raspber- ries, to which they give their own disagreeable, bed-bnggy odor and flavor.
Among the cannibal bags the most important families are the Pbkti.tomtd£, Bedutiad^ and Aoanthiin^.
In the first of these groups we flnd many species of flattened, short, oblong bags, somewhat under medium size, having the large scutellum extended backward in a rather slender point. The head and pro thorax together form an obtase angle, there being no constric- tion to form a neck ; the anteunte are flve-jointed and the thighs are bat slightly broadened and not spiny; the beak is stont. Althoogh the great majority of the species are predaoeous, and rank among use* fnl insects, we flnd among them one serioas pest. This is the Uarle- qoin Gabbage-bng fMurgantia htstrioniea, Hahn.), a notorions exception to the rule, being very destructive, in the Middle and Southern States, to the vegetable from which it gets its popolar name. It is a hand- some insect, as bags go (See Fig. 40), of a polished black color, with the scutel margined and the wing covers crossed by stripes of bright red or orange, and with two distinct white spots on the head ; beneath, it is marked by lines of yellow dots. Dr. Biley says the eggs " may be likened to little barrels, for though the sides are straight, the edges are rounded off, and the black bands recalling the hoops, and a black spot near the middle recalling the bang-bole, add to the resemblance."
OtTTLIHKS OF BNTOHOLOQT. 653
The larvie, or young nympbae, are pole green, marked with black, wfaile those more mature ahow some of tbe colors of the perfect insect and have larfte wing-pads. The development is very rapid, often requiring not more than two weeks from the egg to the matnre insecL It attacks Dot onl; cabbage and other crnoiferons plants, but sometimfa injorea peae and other vegetables.
The other members of this fomily make amends for the injaries done by this one. Among them we find the Spined Soldier-bag (Pod- tow spinotut Dallas), long celebrated as a most persistent enemy of the Colorado Potato-beetle. This insect is of a doll green, and is chiefly characterized by having the sides of the pro-thorax produced into sharp spines. The beak is so strong that the habit of the bng, even when very yonng and small, is to impale the beetle larva oryoang cater- pillar upon the end of it, and hold it up in the ^r while sacking out the fluid contents of the body.
The Bbdutiad^ are Sercely predaceons and destroy great num- bers of other insects, and are thns directly of the greatest beneflt to the agricnltnrist. They are more slender and elongate in form and of harder texture than the members of the preceding family, and some are rather elegantly colored.' The strong, homy beak is folded nnder against, the breast when not in nse. The legs are stout in some species, somewhat bristly, but seldom toothed or spined. Some of the species are more than an inch in length, but the majority only about lialf that length.
The Wheel -bpg (Prionidat crittatv*), which is qaite common in the more sonthem States, is one of the largest and most formidable species. It is of a shaded gray color, and has a carious notched crest on the pro-thorax, which resembles a section of a cog-whesl — whence its popalar name.
The yonng bags are bright red, with black markings. They are most ferocious, and Mr. Glover says : " They kill their prey by inserting into it the proboscis, which ejects a most powerful poisonous liquid into the wound. The victim, thus pierced, dies in a very short time. They then leisurely suck out the juices and drop the empty skin.''
They attack all kinds of caterpillars and grubs, and even destroy one another at times in trne cannibal fashion.
The Blood-sucking Cone-nose or Big Bed-bag f'OoKorAintH sangui- Kugva Lee.) is sometimes found hiding in beds and staffed furniture, and does not hesitate to attack the rightfal occnpants, upon whom it in- flicts very painful wounds. People have been known to die from the effects of its venomed stabs. It is about an inch in length, black margined all around with short red dashes.
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5B1 STATB HOBTIOULTDRAL 80C1BTT.
A similar but more plflinly colored species has been named by Prof^ Comstock the Masked Bed-bag bnnter (Optioeetas pertonatui), from its habit of preying on the genaine bed-bug. It is an European Bpeciee^ but a variety is also native to the Eastern States. The yoang secrete all over the sarface a viscid fluid to which dust and particles of wool and feathers adheie, giving them a most singnlar and disguised appear* ance. The Bapacions Soldier-bug {Bedveius raptatoriiu, Say.) is a slen- der, rather graceful bag with a long narrow head, and stout raptatorial troat legs. The sides of the thorax are sharply angled. (See Fig. 41.> It preys ou all soft-bodied insects. Of similar form and babit« is the Many-banded robber {Milyai ainotut, Fabr.), which appears in yellow^ black and white colors.
The &mily AcANTHiiN^, is represented by a single species of the worst repute — the mal-odorons and cosmopolitan bed-bag {Acanthi^ lectttlaria, Linn). Few people are so happy as not to have made the acquaiatance of this annoying insect, if not in their own well-kept cham- bers, at least in those of hotels and boarding houses, from which it can only by the greatest care be excluded. It is of flat, broad-oval form and red-brown color, aboat one-flfth of an inch long. It never acquires wings, and the perfect bags can only be known from (he young by their larger size, darker color and very minute rudiments of wing covers. It is strictly nocturnal, and hides by day in the smallest cracks and crevices. It is capable of endaring long &sts, and it is said will recover its vitality after being imprisoned for many months without food.
A BOlation of corrosive sublimate in alcohol is the most certfun remedy in infested rooms and on bed-steads. Benzine and kerosene are also much ased, and by dusting the sheets with pyrethmm powder, travelers may obtain n night's rest even in infested rooms. This bag is said to occur in myriads nnder the dead bark of certain trees in the far west, although, if animal fluids be necessary to its development, it is difficult to imagine on what it can feed under such cireamstances.
There are several families of amphibious bugs which are chiefly' interesiing from their adaptation to walking lightly on the enr&Mie of the water, or in marshy spots, without having the feet broadened or any sail-like or oar-like processes to aid locomotion.
The Water-stiiders (Htdbobatid^) have the middle and hinder legB very long, the bodies slender and flattened, and no distinct scntel- Inm. They are predaceoos in habit, and leap into the air after the small flies and gnats on which they subsist.
Among the Aquatic bugs are the Water Scorpions and Giant water bugs (Nepio^), where we And some species that exceed in size all
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OUTLINBS OP BHTOMOLOOT.
565
Other species of the Order. The; possess oar-like lege and flat bodies. The species are all caroiTOrons and are provided with strong, sharp beaks, npon which the bodies, not onl; of other insects, bnt of tad- poles and yonu^ fish, are impaled antil they can be drained of the vital fluids. The Water scorpions are of slender form, and the abdomen is terminated by a pair of long, slender, grooved styles, which, when shot tagather, form a breathing tube that can be elevated above the water, while the insect is mating its piedatoiy exeimions beneath the sor- foce. The Oiant water bug (Belottoma gritea. Say.) is more than two inches in length, by one in width, with a flat, boat-shaped foody and powerful swimming legs. It aleo flies long distances, and is often attracted in great numbers to electric lights. The Back-swimmers (Ko* ToNBOTiD^) swim in a reversed position, and have very long, feathery bind legs.
CHAPTER XXVI. Order hemiptera. Sub-Order Homoptbea.
CICADAH, LEAF-HOPFBES, PLANT-LIOB AHD BARK-LICB.
'^^.
IT-yflat Clcidk (C. irplmdecl nymph; b.Bhen olaunfi; rwig miule Tor tbe eggt; t, <
. peifeot Clcadki i
In this division of beaked insects we find the wings — where these organs are present — of the same texture throughout, and closing roof-
, v^n_n_'Vli>
556 BIATE HOBTIOULTUBAI, BOCIBTT.
like over the body. Id several large groaps the; are tranepftrent, and Bnpported by many ot few strong veioB ; in others they are tough and opaqae, and Bhow many different colors. The bead i8 broad, bat asaally very short, vithont any neok, and has the beak arising bo f^ nnder that it seems to be attached to the breast, against which it may be closely folded. The eyes are round and prominent. The antenne in the larger BpecieB are very inconspicaons, bat in the more minute forme are long, and often beantifalJy feathered. Some speeieB are provided with a Btrong, homy ovipositor by which the eggs are inserted into woody stems oi branches of trees ; others place their eggs on exposed sorfiices, or nnder looeeaed bark.
The moBt important families of homopterons insects are the CicA.* DiD^, Mbmbbaoidjb, Jassid^, Aphidid^ and Conoio^.
In the first of these fomilies we find the large and noisy Harvest- flies or Dog-day flies (genas Cicada}. They have an oval form, with the body enclosed in a firm, shelly cruet, head as broad as the thorax, protruding eyes, with three distinct ocelli between them, and the an- tennffi are short and awl-shaped or end in a sharp-pointed bristle. The feet are three-jointed ; wings large and glassy \ abdomen of the females bearing an ovipositor which rests in a Assure oa the under side of the abdomen, and is adapted for sawing and boring into hard wood. The males have a most ingenious musical apparatus for producing the deaf- ening buzzing or "dramming " with which our shade trees and groves resound from early summer until antamo. These iDstmmeutB are little membraDoas sacs, which are gathered into fine plaits and lit over cavi- ties at the base of the abdomen. The sound Is produced by i-apid expansion and contraction, by means of Btrong muscles within that part of the body.
The most intereeting of tbeee InseotB is the Periodical or Seventeen- year Cicada, or "Locust " — incorrectly so-called— r'Cieada aeptemdeoim, Linn.} see Fig. 42, which enjoys the distinction of being the longest- lived insect known to entomologista. The perfect cicadas areof adark brown or black color, with red eyes and glassy, orange-veined wings, beneath which are situated the "drums," whose soond is thought by some to be the word "Pharaoh," very mnoh prolonged.
These singular insects appear in the same locality only once ia seventeen or thirteen years — the development in the Southern States being somewhat more rapid than in the Korthern States. Their life, as perfect insects, is comparatively brief, lasting not more than Ave or Bix weeks. The females saw numerous consecutive, longitudinal slits in the branches of fruit and forest trees, often severely injuring the trees in the process. The young hatch in the course of a few weeks
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Ot)TLINE8 OP EHTOHOLOGT. SffT
and drop to the groand, into which they burrow and where theyremaio, desceuding deeper aod deeper year by year, feeding on the rootJets of trees and growing very slowly, antil ready to change to papte, when they begin to ascend. The papa is active, and after emerging from the ground crawls to the trnnk of some tree or shrub, to which it clings with its apiny claws, while the perfect cicada emerges. As these pupa shells retain their form, except for the slit on the top, throngh which the imago escaped, they are often mistaken for dead "loonsts," and it ased to be a popular superstition that they "sang notil they barst" They appear in May or June.
The annual Dog-day or Harvest-flies, of which there are but two or three, not very distinct species, in this country, develop about mid- Bumoier, and sing late in the afternoon and in the twilight, nntil frost. The most common species is somewhat larger than the seventeen-year species, of a green and black color, having the body thickly covered by a whitish powder or "bloom," from which oircnmstanoe it received its name, Cicada pruinota, Say.
The Tree-hoppers (Mbmbba.cid^) are rather small insects, but among them are some of the most singular and grotesque forms of animate life. The pro-thorax is the part most subject to variation. This often extends backward almost to the tip of the abdomen, or the front edge is prolonged into a horn that curves far over the head.
The Buffalo Tree-hopper (Oeresa bubalus, Fabr.) exhibits in its form a variety of triangles ; in front, on top, and on each side, one or more of these geometrio flgnres can be traced. It is of a dull green color, nearly one-half inch in length, and the female often does consid- erable damage to the tender twigs of fruit trees by the numerous slits which she saws in them for the reception of her eggs.
Among the Leaf-hoppers (Jabsid^) are a number of small, but very destructive species. These insects have oblong forms, long wings, often beautifully colored, a rounded pro-thorax and a triangular head. A few are about one-half inch in length, but the greater number are very small. The Grape-vine Leaf-hopper t'JStythronmtra mtia, Har.), commonly but erroneously called " Thripa," frets the leaves of the vine with innumerable punctures until they tnrn brown and wither. These insects are often so numerous late in summer that they leap off in donds when the vines are shaken. Other species are injurious to roses, growing grain and grass.
The Plaat-lice (Aphidid^s) are a very comprehensive and interest- ing class of insects. They range from small to exceedingly minute, but make np in numbers what they lack in size, and include some of the most destrnctive pests known to the agricnltnrist. They ate soft-
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668 8TATB HOETIOITLTUEAL SOOIETT.
bodied and gr^gariona, and most numeroas ia the wingless forms. The eyes are asaally qaite large and of a dark color, and the antennie of many species long and thread-like; the beak is tTO-jointed, and in some cases as long or longer than the body ; legs, in the leaf-feeding species, rather long and slender, bat in the root-feeding and galMnhab- Iting forms short and stont; wings thin and transparent, with dark Teins on the autetior margin. TSear the tip of the abdomen, on the back, many specieB have a pair of little tabes throagb which exudes a sweet flaid, sometimes in saeh qaantitles as to thickly besprinkle the plants infested. This is then termed "honey dew," althongh the genn- Ine "honey dew" is an excretion from the leaves of certain plants during dry, hot weather. Ants, as is well known, are extremely fond of "aphis nectar,*' and induce the insects to yield it in large quantities by caressing tbem with their antenase, for which reason they are called the "ants' cows." Other species of aphides excrete A-om a part or the whole of the sorfaoe of the body a whitish powder or " bloom," or nameroas fllaments of dne, cottony matter, in which they become com- pletely enveloped. The reproductive processes of aphides are very complicated and remarkable, and have been the snbject of much care- fal study and experiment. Onr knowledge in regard to them may be briefly summarized as follows : At certain seasons of the year — usually late in summer or early antnmn — individuals of both sexes are pro- daced, and the females lay eggs, which in some species hatch immedi- ately, in others remain dormant over winter. The sexed aphides were formerly supposed to be the winged form, bat later discovery shows that there is not necessarily any connection between the possessiou of wings and of true sexnal organs, the wings being simply an adaptation for migration Arom one locality or plant to another. Thefoim hatching from the egg is denominated the "stem mother," aad in the course of a few days begins a peculiar process of reprodnction, called partkeno- genetit or agamia reproduction, bringing forth her yoang alive and in very rapid sncceasion. This process has been likened to the multipli- cation of certain kinds of plants by slipping and bndding. The off- spring of the "stem mother " begin, in their tnrn, to produce vivipa- ronsly in the course of a few days, and in this way the mnltiplieation of individuals proceeds at a most extraordinary rate. Fortnnately for the safety of vegetation, plant lice have a variety of natural enemies. They may also be destroyed by alkaline applications, tobacco smoke or in- fnsion, or kerosene emulsions. Poisons such as Paris green or London purple do not have much effect upon them, as they do not eat leaves, bat puncture them and extract the sap from beneath the cuticle.
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OUTLIHBS OP ENTOMOLOGT. 559
Among the excessively iDJarionsBpecies or Aphides may be men- ijooed the Grape Phylloxera (P. vattatrix, Plan.) which has oaased sach wholesale destrntfUon of the vioeyards in France and other European conntries, and prevents the cultiTation of many choice varieties of grapes in this coantry. This species occnrs in two forms, one inhabiting warty galls on the foliage, but the most destructive form ooconing on the roots, which it canses to decay. This species and its allies do not produce the yonng alive, bat always by means of eggs. Another root- lonse, belonging in another family, is the Woolly louse of the apple (StAizoneura lanigera, Hausm.) This also sometimes appears above ground on the trunk of the tree, and is one of the species that clothes Itself in a cottony or woolly excretion.
The Hop Aphis fPhorodon kumultj often oooasions great loss in hop-yards, and Dr. Biley has made the interesting discovery that in autumn the winged migrant form resorts to plum trees and there pro- duces the sezed individuals whose eggs hibernate on the plnm, on the leaves of which the first spring generations feed, becoming winged early in summer and again returning to the hop-yards. The largest species are found on the hickory and sycamore trees. These belong to the genus Laekniu, and when thickly congregated on the tranks and branches are a most repulsive sight. Some species, especially those of the genus Pemphigus, caase very singnlar galls on trees of the poplar and willow family. As nearly all aphids are more or less injari* one, it is out of the qnestion to attempt here to give a list, even of those that are serious pests.
In the femily Goooidida are grouped the Scale-insects or Biurk- lice, the Mealy-bugs and a few similar forms, which rival tbe members of the preceding family in rapidity of increase, in injarions effect upon the plants attacked and in tbe diflBcnlty with which they are eradicated or even kept in check. In these insects only the males undergo trans- formation, protected by a small larval scale. They acquire wings, two in number, very transparent and with only one or two veins. The antennffi are long, and, ander the microscope, are seen to be many- jointed and hairy or plumy. The month parts are undeveloped, and in their place we find a second pwr of eyes. The females never acquire irings, and most of the species become fixed in one spot very shortly after hatching, the long but extremely fine beak penetrating to the sap- wood of the tree oi shrub infested and slowly imbibing the sap teqaired to perfect the growth and development of the insect. Immediately npon becoming fixed the snrface of the body exudes a waxy substance that very soon forms, together with the motled skins, a complete shell or scale over the body. After being visited by the winged male, the
560 BTATB HOSTIODLTDRAL SOCIETY.
egga begin to form and bood All the body of the mother inRecl. Upon hatchiDff, the very minate lice creep from ander the scale and dioperse with great actiTit; all over the tree or branch, from whence some are carried by birde and insects, or are wafted by the wind to other trees, and in this way they are disseminated from one orchard or vioeyard or grove to aDotfaer. Besides the waxy scale, some species excrete a great quantity of white, cottony matter, as a protection to the eggs. This substance is arranged in varions forms oliaracteristic of the spe> cies.
Among the cocoids that form simple scales is the widely-distrihated Oyster-ehell Bork-lonse of the apple (M^tilaapii pomonuM, Bonche.) This species covers the branches and tranks of trees with its pale . brown, somewhat oyster-shaped scales, beneath which are the females, each with its almost invisible beak penetrating to the growing wood and extracting sap la snch quantities as to retard the growth of the tree, and rednce the qaantity and impair the quality of the fruit. The young are batched late in spring, and ore active for a few days only. Alkaline wsehee or kerosene emulsion applied at this time are most effectual in preventing their increase. They have a few natural enemies in the shape of Coocinelid beetles, Lace- wing fiy larvte and one or two minate parasitic flies. Two similar scales of other species are found in the South on orange trees. Several species of white scales fChiona^itJ are also found on apple, pear, pine and willow. A smaller, white, scurfy scale flHaspitJ is sometimes very abundant on the stems of roses, blackberries and raspberries. The scale insects most trouble- some in green-houses and on hoase-plaats, and occarriug also on the orange, belong to the genas Aapidiottu. Among the scale insects that produce cottony masses is Ptilvinarta innumerabaUt (Bath.), which ap> pears in great numbers on grape vines, and especially on maple and elm trees, covering the bark with its masses of floccalent matter and honey-dew like excretions, greatly disflgaring and injuring vines and trees. The orange tree is especially subject to the attacks of scale insects; and one of these, the Fluted scale (loerya purchatiJtBenouB\y threatened the existence of the groves of California, until Dr. Biley happily discovered its chief natnral enemy in AnstraUa, from which country the scale had been introduced, and secured the importation of the useful Lady-bird beetle, which in about two years has almost exter- minated the particular species of pest on which it naturally preys.
The Mealy bugs fDaetplopiuaJ — especially troublesome on honse- plants and in green- houses— while agreeing with the scale insects in many particulars, do not secrete scales and the females do not become fixed in one place. The bodies are covered with a white powdery
OUTUNBS OF BNTOHOLOQT. 561
matter, with abort fllameiits aroand tbe anterior end and sides and sev- eral long ones at the tail. One of the Cooeidse fOoceus eactij is the insect bo well known as "cochineal," which, nntil the invention of the aniline dyes, was the Bonrce of the be«ntifal red and crimeon colors so mnch osed in tbe manofoctnre of textile fiibrics.
CHAPTER XXVII.
Order heuiptera. Sab-Order Pabasitioa.
HUMAN AND OATTLB PABABITEB.
[Kg, «.]
The Short-noeed Oi-loiua (HanufopJnu fBrjriliniiuJ after Oibome. a. ttmtie 1 b, iMtmin (beu) i e. under ■nifKoa of lut Joint of mile i '• ess i /■ nrftwe of egg, till gie*llj mtgnlfled.
In this Snb-order we find the most repnlsive and annoying of all insects — the trne paiaaites of mammals, not excepting man. The gen- eral strnetoral characters are depicted with great exactness in the illnstratiou. Fig. 44.
The true lice are all very small insects, which never acquire wings. They remain close to the skin and sack the blood of tbe animalB in- fested, causing great discomfort and irritation by their presence and their innumerable punctures. They are the result of neglect and squalor, and on cattle and horses indicate a very nnthrifty physical condition. The proboscis is merely a flenhy prolongation of the front of tbe head, at the end of which are a pair of extremely sharp lancets, which are retracted within tbe head when not in ase. At the base of these, as shown at b, in the figure, is a rosette of sharp, recurved hooks, which,
H E— 36
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562 BIATB HOBTIOULTUBAI, SOOIBIT.
when the insect is feeding, are thmBt into the skin to support the l»Qeets. The eyee are simple and very small, and tlte antfeDnie very short and minntely bristly. The legs have thick, short. Botched joints and end in a strong cnryed claw, that when closed down, meets a little tooth on the shank — a provisioa for clin^ng to and climbing luurs. There are no transfonnations. The eggs are called "nits," and are firmly glned at one end to the hairs.
Three species attack man ander certain external conditions of pov- erty and ancleanlineBs, namely: The Head-loase (Pedumlua eapitU), which is oonflned to the hair and skin of ihe head, and is most freqaently found on neglected children ; the Body-lonse {Pediculua vettmenta), which hides in the seams and folds of the clothing, and draws the blood ftom any part of the body; and the Crab-lonse {Pthirivs pubU), which attacks the arm pits and pnbic region. These peats commonly aggra- vate the miseries of military prisons and camps and other sitaatious where haman beings are congregated withont provision for cleanliness and lack nonriahing food. Mercurial ointment is the best remedy, with entire change of clothing, where possible.
The trae lice that are sometimes fonnd on thin and neglected horses, cattle, swine and other animals, differ very slightly &om those fonnd on man. They are placed in the genns Sematopimu. Strong infnsions of tobacco or of larkspar seeds are among the remedial washes, also an ointment of kerosene and lard, thoronghiy mixed ; bnt the experiments of Prof. G. P. Gillette, of Colorado, have demonstrated the superiority of that valnable insecticide, the ordinary kerosene emul- sion, over every other preparation, in ridding animals of these pests. Dr. Biley, whose invention it was, says of it : "It has long sinue be- come recognized as an insecticide of anrivaled merit, against most of the insect enemies of plants, and also in the case of animals, as a means against the Bnffalo-gnat, Horse-fiy, etc. • • • The only precaution necessary with this substance is to see that the emulsion is properly made, and that in winter time the animal be protected from severe cold."
There are certain other kinds of lice occasionally found on cattle, belonging to the same group with chicken-lice, bird-lice and so forth, which, although they bear considerable resemblance to the true lice, are structurally very different and form a low sub-order of the Ken- roptera. The remedies for these are the same as for the more common species.
.y Google
OniLlNES OF BNTOMOLOGT.
CHAfTEU XXVIII.
Order VI. OKTHOPTBHA. [Fig M 1
Old World Ulgnlory Loenst (PocAyljrhuiiilfraroiiu.J
Id this Order of B0-ca11ed atraight-Kinged inseotB we find msny nnasttaUj' ioteresting species. Geologically and historically they aie the oldest of insects. la the stratified rocks their remaiDs are foand among the very earliest forms of animal life ; while the " locuflts," bo frequently mentioned in the Old TeBtament, and in equally ancient sec- nlar history, as suddenly swooping down upon a country and "devonr- ing every green thing," are among the typical representativea. Except- ing the Cicadas, described in a preceding chapter, we find among the Orthoptera the only insecta provided with a special musical apparatus, each species having its own peculiar inetmment and contributing its characteristic notes, called atridulationa, to the insect concerts that enliven the eammer days and nights. Many of the most singular imi- tative forms that occur in natare are also found here in the " walking Bticka" and *' walking leaves" that compose one of tbi groupa; and by many other pecoliaritiea of Btrncture and habit the Orthoptera chal- lenge attention from the etndent of pure science, the lover of nature, and the economist.
The straight- winged insects are nearly all of a size to be examined without the aid of a microscope, and some forms have been considered superior to all others as sabjects for dissection in the study of internal as well aa external structure. While they exhibit mnch variation in form, all the more conspicnons species agree in the vertical position of the head, the biting month, the large pro-thorax, and the parchment- like wing-covers — when these organs are present,
The head is usually large, and thoagh somewhat sunken nnder the pro-thorax in many Bpecies, ia freely movable on the flexible neck. The eyes are round or oblong, and prominent in most species. The antennae
664 BTATS HOBTIOVLTDBAL SOOIBTT.
are either short, atont and few-jointed, or very long and slender with an indefinite namber of indistinct joints.
In these insects ve find the moatb parts particnlarly well devel- oped, and adapted for biting and masticating solid food. The mandi- bles are short, bat broad and strong, with s toothed catting edge ; the mazillie are adapted to the ofiQce of holding the food in place, in which the two pairs of month-feelers (palpi) assist ; the lower lip (labiam) forms the floor to the mouth, and the annanally long and broad labmm closes over the other month parts like a tme lip, when the losect is not feeding. The pro-thorax only appears on the apper side of the body, and in a great m^ority of the species it is more or less saddle-shaped, often with a longitndinal ridge on top. There is much variation in the length, thickness and character of the snrface of the legs, which are adapted for mnniug, jnmping, harrowing, grasping and other nses. The wing-covers are composed of strong membrane more or less thick- ened and opaqne, in which the venation is peoaliar to the species. They nsoally over-lap at the bases or for their entire length, and either lie dat npon the back or are concave, and enclose the sides also like a pod. The nnder wings are very broad, in many species composed of transparent^ bat closely net-veined membrane. A few kinds display in life variooa beantiful colors, which shortly disappear in cabinet speci- mens. When not in ase these wings are folded in &n-like plaits and hidden nnder the upper pair. In the hind body we can connt eight or nine distinct segments, attached to the last of which are the variously shaped claspers of the males, and the equally varied ovipositing organs of the females. On the nnder side of this part of the body the proteotr ing crast seems thinner and more flexible than elsewhere, and expands and contracts with the inhalation and exhalation of ^r.
The Orthoptera are very voracions in all stages of their develop- ment, and while the minority feed on growing vegetation, others are predaceoas, and a considerable namber are eerioas boosehold pests, on account of their preference for the contents of pantries and the offal of kitchens.
The transformations are incomplete, and the young differ from the mature insects even less than young bugs differ from those that have acquired the perfect form.
There is considerable confusion in the terms applied to some of the groups in this Order. Thus the trne locusts are very generally called "grasshoppers," while the term " locust" is in this country ap- plied to the Periodical Oicada. Again, all the more conspicaous forms included by entomologists among " grasshoppers " are not found on grass at all, but inhabit the tops of the tallest trees. Kor does this
OCTLINBB OF ENTOMOLOGY. 665
inapt DomeDclatnre occnr only Id popnlor laognage, for ve And the iMcvBTioM inclade ooly the green grasihoppers and other solitary speoiea, while ihe geonine, often gregaiioae, and Infinitely more destrno- live locnetB are placed in the Family Acbidid-s.
All the more important American speoiea of Obthoftera are foond in six Familiee, namely : Crickets (Obylud^) ; Green Orass- hoppers and Katydids (LoonflTTD-s) ; Tme Locnsts (AORIDID^) ; Walk- ing sticks or Specters (Fhabhid^) ; Soothsayers, Devil's horses (Man- tida) and Oockroaches (Blattid^). The first three Families form a ■eotion of the Order distingnished from their mode of progresBJon as the Jumpers (Saltatobia) ; the foorth Family includes the Walkers (AMBULAToRiA) ; the fifth the Graspers (Baptatoria) ; the sixth the Banners {CUBSOBIA).
CHAPTER XXIX.
Order, ORTHOPTEBA. Section, Saltatobia.
OBICKBTS, GBASaHOPFEBS, KATYDIDS, AND LOOUSTS.
The Jumping Orthoptera inclade all the musical and nearly all the Injurioas species, namely, the Crickets, Green Grasshoppers and Lo- oasts. The Crickets (Gryllid^) are easily separated into three groaps. Hole crickets, Honee and Field crickets and Tree crickets, each con- taining comparatively few species. They all agree in having somewhat oylindrical bodies, either short and stent or slender and elongate, and always terminate in more ur less conspionoas stylets or a long, exserted ovipositor. The head is large, ronndiah, or obtnsely triaagalar ; eyes hemispherical, widely separated; antennae long, slender and tapering; npper lip nearly circnlar, and the palpi, of which both pairs are well developed, are somewhat clnb-shaped. The pro-thorax is broad and of a firm, homy or shelly texture. The wtn^ and wing covers, except in the Tree crickets, cover only one-half or two-thirds of the abdomen. The wing covers are of thick, leathery or mica-like membrane, with a pecaliar ridged venation, by means of which their calls and chirps are prodnced. The legs vary in the development of certain parts to cor- respond with the habits of the species, bat the bioder pidr always have large thighs and more or less spiny shanks.
The Mole crickets do not jnmp, bat are pecaliar for their harrow- ing habits, and seldom emerge tiom their sabterranean abodes nntil after Digbt&Il. They are large, stout insects, of dnll brown colors,and
666 STATE HOBTIOTTLTtTBAL 800IETT.
hare the anrEiMe thickly clothed with a soft pubescence — ia this, as in many other parlicnlars, imitating the genolae mole. Id the fore legs all the joints are flattened and broadened, the tibife spreading oat like the palm of the hand, and having on the lower edge foar long, homy, flnger-like processes, so that they are almost exact miniatores of the shovel-like fore feet of the animal from which they are named. These insects are asnally fonnd in damp soils, where their horizontal galleries are betrayed by the little ridges which appear on the surface of the ground. They feed npon roots and ander-groaod stems of plants, va- rying their diet by devonring any harrowing larvte or exposed pnpse with which they come in contact in their tanneling operations. The most common Northern species is Oryllotalpa borealet, Barm, while in the Southern States O. loHffipennia is more fregnently met with.
The Hoase and Field crickets live in chimneys, stone walla and similar sitaations, or in holes in the groand. Modern methodsin baild- ing have banished the " cricket on the hearth," whose cheerM chirp formerly blended with the cosy " song " of the tea-kettle, inspiring in poets and novelists some of their-most beaatifnl thoughts on the com- forts of home.
The House Oricket (6ryttu» domestieuij is of a brown or grayish color, and is an immigrant from Earope and the Air East. Jt is qaite abundant in oor eastern cities, but is not yet very generally dissemi- nated over the ooantry. The larger Field Crickets are black with brown wings, and the males of some species snrvive the winter and may be heard chirping during warm evenings early in the spring. They all belong in the same genas with the Mole and Hoase Orickets, and show much variation in coloring and in the development of the wings. The eggs are deposited in masses of two or three haodred, bat are not enclosed in a sac aa are those of the Mole Cricket. The yoang hatch abont midsummer and disperse in all directions, feeding on all \-arieties of vegetation, often proving qnite injurioas. The species of Ifemobiua appear later in the sammer, are of a doll, pale brown color, sometimes obscurely striped, and in one or two species the wings are wanting, and the shelly elytra (wing covers) somewhat loosely enclose the body. The Tree Crickets are of more slender and delicate form, with broader and more glassy wing covers and long slender legs and antenna. The males of (Eeanthiu nieeue Har. and (E. latipennU Biley are white or greenish white, the wing covers transparent, flat, and when closed, com- pletely over-lapping and crossed by W-shaped ridges. When stridnlat- ing, these wings are elevated almost at right angles to the body and the surfaces rubbed together with a motion too swift to be followed by the eye, producing a metallic " whirr " that is incredibly load and pierc-
OUTUKBS OP BNTOHOLOGT. 567
ing iu oomparison with tbe size ftnd delicate texture of the insect. TThe females are qaite different ia appeaiauce, being slender and almost oylindrioal, vith the wing covers carving down at the aides so as to parti; enclose the body. The ovipositor is slender bat very strong and horny, nearly as long as the abdomen, and tenninates in a blant tip beset with minate points. With this instrament tbe female of (E, ittv«w« pierces the yoaag canes of grape or of raspberry, depositing in a row a considerable nomber of eggs. <E. latipami* forces hers into tbe pith of stems or into bark through a series of pinhole-like punctures from one-half an inch to one inch apart. The pnnctnred twigs are invariably killed, and the insects ocoastonally do considerable damage ; bat as these crickets feed almost entirely upon aphides and other mi- nate pests, they make ample compensation for all the injury that they do, and may be accounted beneficial rather Uian injurious.
The most eeethetically interesting insects among the Loonttida are the " Katydids." The pecoliar, interrupted stridalations of these little tree-top masicians have inspired many a poetic gem and dainty bit of imaginative prose. Xor are they merely &vorites with the poets, who, for the most part, know them only by their notes ; but the natmalist, who keeps them as pets, finds in their babita and histories most instmct. ive and suggestive revelations of insect life. They are mostly of large size, and of a bright green color, in this assimilating closely to the foli- age amid which they dwell. The large, free head is oarioasly like that of a horse ; the eyes are round and bright, and of a yellowish-browa 'color; the antennse are very long, slender and tapering; tbe varions month parts are easily distinguished without the aid of a lens, and the processes of catting and mastication may be closely observed, as the insects will often sit apon one's finger and nibble a leaf or bit of frnit in fearless enjoyment. Tbe apper side of the pro-thorax is covered by a wide collar, which projects slightly over the head in front, and, pos- teriorly, overlaps the bases of the wings. In repose the wings meet on the back in an acute angle, and are more or less convex at the sides, to enclose the body. At the base they over-lap in a wide, fiat triangle, the upper snrface of one and the under surface of the other being peon- liarly ridged and rooghened to form the " taborets," which grate together as tbe insect raises and lowers its wings. These wing-covers display a venatioo imitative of that of leaves. Tbe under wings are broad, com* posed of vety dehcate, finely-netted membrane, with green tips where they project slightly beyond the upper pair. The legs are slender, with the tibiee slightly spiny and the tarsi ending in long, sharp claws. The hind legs are very nearly twice tbe length of tbe others. At the base of the tibise of the fore legs are peculiar oval cavities covered with
0C8 STATE HOBTICtTLTtJBAL 800IBTT.
tmnsparent membrane, which are supposed to be the seat of the sense of heulDg. The bodies of the males terminate in conapicnoos stylet« or cUuBpen, while those of the females bear a large sickle-shaped or BwordOike ovipositor, composed of two thin blades, by means of which the eggs are inswted into bark or leaves, or are laid in over-lapping' rows on thin stems or on the edges of leaves.
The tme Katydid COyrtopkylha eoncavuij is the most robost-Iooking^ ■pedes, the wing-covers being oblong and very convex on the sides, almost meeting below as well as on the back. The taborets oonsist of mioa-llke plates, with very etron^, pecaliarly curving ridges. Hie Angnlar-winged Katydid fMiaraoentntm retinervitj has longer, narrower and less convex wings. The taborets are opaqne, and the sounds pro- dneed resemble a metallic clicking sonnd, wMoh has not been rednced by any imasinative listener to syllables. The Narrow-winged Katydid fPhaneropta-n eurvieaMdaJ Is a smaller, duller-green species, witii a leea noticeable note. It most be remembered that the males are the mnal- cians of the family, althongh the females are capable of emitting a &int response by a sadden upward Jerk of the wings.
Among the Grasshoppers are some long, slender, bright-ereen species which have the front of the head prodnced into a point. These are called the Gone-heads. Xipkidium mrifer is the largest species. The males prodace the most deafening, continnons "whirr" of any of the tribe. The femalee hare a long, straight, sword-shaped ovipositor, and in both sexes the wings are nearly twice the length of the body. The smaller and very gracefol Orekilimwmt, which enliven the antamn days with their soft pnrring notes, belong also in this gronp.
The tme Locasts (AoBiDiD^) are the species which live on grasSt grains and other low-growing vegetation, and are in this oonutry very generally called " grasshoppers.'* In this gronp belong not only the various dull-green and brown species that are so nnmeroas every year in fields and pastures, and which in dry seasons become very infarions, bnt certain migratory species, which, having exhaasted the food snpply of the regions to which they are indigenoas, by a common impnlse rise into the ur in clonds and sweep like a besom of destruction over the country. They fly by day and descend at night to feed, often traversing thonsands of miles before reaching their limit. These are the only insects which have been used to any great extent as food, and this mainly in trans-Atlantic countries, where the fomishing inhabitants of the desolated regions were forced to feed upon them or perish. The Bocky Honntaln Locust fCalopte^ut tpretut, Thom.) is t>ie most im- portant American species of migratory locust ; bat one or two Eastern species manifest a like tendency, and during some years prove very destructive over limited areas.
D.|iiz^:;|., V^H_H_'V|1>
OUTLIRXB OF EnTOMOT'OaT. 669
The Loonats are robust iasecta, stonter io body and lege than the Oraashopper and Eatydida, and are veil protected by a Ann leather; iote^ment. The head ii even larger in proportion to the body than In the precedjnsr family. It is set vertioally, in some Bpeoiea receding toward the month. The eyes are large and broadly elKptioal in form; antennse short and rather thick ; the fikoe is marked in many epeoiea by three diatinct ridges ; npper lip broad, with tlie lower edge somewhat hollowed oat Joat above the jawa. The saddle-like collar over the back of the pro-thorax, or pro-notnm, ia marked by tranaverse in- dented lines, and roands oat over the insertion of the winga. Hany locnets have on the pro-atemnm, jast nnder the chin, a oone-like pro- jection aparsely covered with short spines or priekles. The iring oovers are of stoat, closely netted membrane, with a projecting ridge or heavy vein near the middle on the oataide, or a series of prominent veins on the under aide. They are of a narrowly oblong form and slightly overlap in a stnught line on the back. The broad nnder winga are so folded as to be entirely covered by them. The legs are all stoat, bat the hinder pair, always maoh thicker, and gener- ally mach longer also, than the others, provide the leaping power which is so wooderfiil in these insects. The outer margins of the tibiee are beset with a varying nnmber of pairs of spines, and just at the twse of the three-jointed tarsi are two pairs of jointed apnrs. At the base of the abdomen on each side Is an oval orifice covered with thin membrane, like those on the fore legs of the Katydids, and, like them, termed the eari or aaral eaos. In the abdomen of the males nine segments can be perceived from the nnder side. The anal appendages are a pair of side claspers and an upward carving ventral plate. In the abdomen of the female but eight eegments can be diatingninhed, and the tip has four homy, ' pointed blades, which oan be brought together in a point to penetrate the soil, and afterward spread out to pry the earth apart and prepare a cavity for the reception of the eggs, which are extruded in a compact mass, inclosed in a sort of glutinous pod or caae.
The Btridnlations of Locuata are eflTeoted in two ways by differing species. Most of the larger species "fiddle," by rubbing the ridged inner surface of the hind thighs over the prominent mid- vein of the out- side of the wing covers. Prof. Cometock, quoting Mr. Seodder, who has made moat exact and interesting studies of the so-called musical insects, says : "When about to stridulate they place themselves in s horizont^ position, with the head a little elevated ; then they raiae both hind legs at once, and grating the femora against the outer aur&oe of the tegmina, produce notes which in the different apecies vary in tapid-
070 STATS HOBTiaVLTUBAL SOCIBTT.
it7, Dumber and doraUon." AooUier method of "fiddling" character- iatio of other species takes place dariag flight, when the ander snrfoce of the apper winge is grated back and forth over the front edge of the under winge.
These insects are probably all single-brooded, the yoang hatching in the spring from the eggs laid the preTioas snmtner and aatnmn. The ▼ery young locnsts bare mnob larger heads in proportion to their bodies than the more mature forma, l^ere are fire molts before the insect arriTes at its perfect form. At the third molt the embryo wings begin to appear. These are in a revertted position with the andei wings on top. By this peculiarity pupte can alw^a be dlstlngaished from the few species of locnsts that never acqnire wings, bnt have these organs represented merely by short pads on eaoh side of the abdomen. Ex- amples of these wingless species are fonnd in the .Lubber Grassbop- pers of the Soath and West, which are large, dark, clnmsy species, incapable of flight or stridnlation.
Oar largest and handsomest speeies is the American Locast (Aeri- dium amerieannmj, which is often more than two inches in lengthy with a golden brown stripe down the back and beantifully mottled wings ; the hind shanks are bright red, beset with spin6a, which are ivory-white tipped with black. There are red markings also on the head, thorax and edges of the wings, and the fore and middle legs are also a paler shade of the same color. The most common and generally distribated species is the Bed-legged Locust fOaloptenut femur -rvltrHni DeG.). This Is scarcely more than one-third the size of the first-named species, Is of a pale, greenish-brown with doll-red hind legs. It often multiplies to SQCh an extent as to do great injury to growing grain.
The BockyMoantain Locust, or Western Migratory Locast (OaAop- tenut tpriAiu, Thomas), is only to be distinguished from the famOiar red- legged species by the greater length of its wing-covers and wings. Concerning the destructivenees of this species at irregolar periods in the States and territories west of the Mississippi river, Dr. BUey, who bas devoted much lime and labQr to the study of this insect, and to devising methods for keeping it in check, writes : " It was so very destructive in the Xorthwestem States and Territories from 1873 to 1877 that it may truly be said to have been one of the chief causes of the basiuess crises which characterized that period. So wide-spread and disastrous were the reeolls of its work that Oongress provided for a com- mission to Investigate it. " • • ISo one who has not witnessed the ravaging power of locasts can fully conceive of or appreciate it. The organization and habit of the typical locust admirably fit It for raven- ous work. Muscular, gregarious, with powerful jaws, and ample diges-
D.-inz'i:;!.', ^^|^_'V_)'
.,le
OOTCIHES OP KHTOMOLOGT. 571
tire and reprodnctiTe syBtemB ; strong of ving and assieted in flight by nnmerons baoysDt air eace — a]l these traits o<Hwjure to make it tfa« ter- rible engine of deatmction which history shovrs it to fe*ve been. lo- sigDifloant iodiTidually, bat mighty collectETely, looasts tail vpon a ooantry like a plagne or blight."
The winged locnsts do not generally appear in swarms antil late in «nmmer, when, after devonriag ail sorts of vegetation, the females All the groand with their eggs and then die.
The yonng locosts, which hatch in the spring, are at hand to take the next erop, and nnless vigoroiiB, and combined effort is made to eab- doe them, by repeated plowings, they take all the early vegetatiQD of the second year. Those that sarvive to attain their wings retnm in amall swarms to their native breeding places.
The species of (Edipoda often have the hind wings brightly colored and prettily banded or bordered. The small species, ^termed Grouse Xjocasts, genua Tettix, are characterized by the prolongation of the col- lar backward so as to almoat entirely cover the top of the abdomen and taking the place of the npper wings, which, being nselesB, are reduced to very small pads. In these insects the hind legs, though not long, are very stoat. They are of dall black or dark colors, and are asnally foand along water-conrses or in other damp places. S'one of the apeciea are especially injnrioas.
CHAPTER XXX.
Order orthoptbra. Sections Ambul atobi A, Rapto Bi A, and CuBBDRiA,
WALKING STICKS, MAHTBS AND OOOEBOAOHBB.
The "Walking sticks," "WjUking leaves," and so forth, included in the family Phasmid^, are mainly tropical species, exhibiting in their forms the most exact and remarkable resemblances to twigs and leaves that have been observed In nature. These imitations of inanimate ob- jects are the sole reliance of these insects for safety, as they have no means of defense agianat their enemies, and their movements are too sluggish to permit them to escape. The Walking sticks, of which a few species occur in the United States, are long, slender and cylindri- cal in form, with long legs, the middle pair havingthe thighs somewhat thickened. When at rest the front le^ are pressed close together and
-'8le
S72 BTATE HOaTIOULTDBlX SOOIBTT.
stack Btiaight oat in front of the head, with the loog thread-like aoteo- nee between them, and when Id this position the eye may rest for some time apon them without recognizing their difFerence from the twigs and leaf-stalks by which they are surronnded. They alio have a (duuneleon- like power of chaneiag their colors to assimilate with those of the plant or tree which they inhabit. They nerer acquire even the radi> ments of wings, and the principal difference between the sexes is that the females are somewhat larger and stouter than the mates. The former lay their eggfi in the antnmn, droppiog them oareles^y to the gronnd. They are about the size, shape and oolor of spinach seed, and reuM^n unhatched nntil late the following spring, or for two yeois. The young, which are about one-fonrtb of an inch loug when hatched, are precise miniatures of the mature insects, except that they are mora uniformly green in oolor. They feed at first on grass and other low- growing vegetation, but soon ascend the nearest trees, in which they find a home adapted to all their needs. Diaphwom^ra femormtm is the only common northern speeiea. This is, when full grown, from three to fonr inches long, exolnsive of the ftonl legs, with a diameter varying from one^ighth to one-fifth inch. It seldom appears in any locality in anfflcient numbers to be acconnted injurione, bat there are exceptions to this rule, as, for example, iu certain parts of the middle Atlaatie states, where during one or two seasons some years ago it ^most de- foliated the forest trees.
The second sectioQ — Graspers (Bi.PT obia] — contains the family Martid^s. The singular forms and attitndes of these insects have sug- gested for them various expressive popular names, such as ^ Devil's riding-horses,'^ "Bear-horses,'* "Intelligenoe bugs," " Sooth-sajers,'* **Praying nans" and the like. The Eug^ish names "Gamel-oricket" or "Praying mantis" are more appropriate, and worthy of general adoption. These insects have always been the objects of superstitious regard, not only by the ignorant and onotvilized natives of tropical regions, where their species are most numerous, but even by coltured, bat too imagi- native Europeans. It was formerly believed that they conld foretell good and evU fortunes, and that the person on whom one alighted waa especially &vored of the gods, and they still receive divine honors ftom many savage tribes. They have indeed a wickedly-wise and weird look, to which their rapacious and cruel habits folly correspond. They are among the fiercest of cannibals, greedily devouring all kinds of soft- bodied insects, which they seize and hold between their spiny front legs antil slowly masticated. They do not hesitate to attack each other^ and when two chance to meet a battle Is the almost invariable resolt. The females are stronger and more earage than the males, and after
OUTLINES OP INTOMOLOOT. S73
pairiag the former generally dioes npon her partner. These insects are of large size — t cro iachea or more in length. The head is triangolar, free, very wide at the top, with large, roond, singalarly ezpreseiTe eyes ; antennse thread-like and not very long; month at the apex of the la- verted triangle ; jaws strong, thongh small. The thoracic joints are cylindrical and elongated, and move fteely upon each other ; the fore legs (graspers) are not used for walking, but are folded and held ap in a position snggesting the attitude of prayer, thongh it is really one of menace. The hind body is oval or oblong, somewhat flattened, and in. the male completely covered by the folded ample wings, and the over- lapping wing covers. The female has mach shorter wings and wing covers, and is incapable of flight. The sexes differ also in color, the male being dnll-brown while the female is nsnally some shade of green. This description applies to the only species commonly met with in the United States below the thirty-ninth parallel, namely, Pkatmitmmti$ Carolina. The eggs are laid in a compact oblong mass, which closely resembles a fossil called a "trilobite.'' It is attached by its flat snr&oe to fence-posts, the wood of trellises and the stems of shrubbery. These egg masses should never be destroyed, as the Mantes are very naefnl in clearing gardens and vine^wls of plant-feeding pests.
The section On^soRiA, fiuoily Bla.tid^, is represented by the disgnsting and omaivorons honsehold pests, the Cockroaches. These insects have no attractions of form or color, and have a disagreeable odor which they eommnuicate to the closets and rooms infested, whUe their swift motions and the deftness with which they disappear into almost invisible cracks and orevioes is most exasperating to their pnr> sner. There is nothing to be si^d in their &vor, except that they prey upon the bed-bog, an instance in which the "core is as bad as the dis- ease." They have received various common names, snch as *' black beetles " and " croton bngs," bnt are qnite generally recognized as *' roaches " or " cockroaches." They are all nocturnal in their habits and very partial to warmth and moisture, which acconnte for their abundance about kitchen sinks and in the holds and pantries of ships, steamboats and similar situations. They are of very flat, oblong form, with the head horizontal and almost concealed by the projecting margin of the collar. The antennae are long and slender; the lege spiny and nearlyeqnally developed ; the wing-oovers are oeually present, bot some- times short, and the under wings often entirely wanting. The females lay all their eggs in one mass, enclosed in a bean-shaped sack, which is often carried about for some time before being dropped. Dr. Biley has observed that the females of some species remain with sod protect their yoang. The latter are at first pure white, and at every molt the
674 BTA.TR HOBTIOULTUBll. 8O0IBTT.
insects revert more or less to this color, tboagh sood becomiog of the shade of brown irhich characterizes them.
Oar native species seldom give qs much annoyance. The males occasionally fly into lighted rooms at night, bat the females are asQally found aroupd rotten stcmps and nnder bark of dead trees. The Light brown cockroach fPlatamodes PenntglvanieaJ is the largest species. It measares about an inch in length, has very delicate wings, and is of a light brown color. A smaller species of a very dark brown or black color,bnt with lighter mar^ns, is also qnite oonimOQ. This is f'otoMa^- voeinota. The most destractive and annoying cockroaches are fonnd among the iutrodnced species. These are especially, the large, very dark brown or black Oriental cockroach fPeriplaneta orietttalit, Linn.), a species which is supposed to be native in eastern Asia, bnt whioh now occnra in all parts of the civilized world. It is aboat one inch long and one-third of an inch wide, very flat, so that it is able to creep into the smallest crack. The wing covers in the male extend over little more than one-half of the abdomen, and in the female are still more radimentary These insects are very long-lived, and it is said reqnire several years to complete their transformations. The smaller, German cockroach, also called the"Oroton bag" fEeUibia gmtnanUsaJ, has become very troablesome in the eastern cities, and from its fondness for wheat bread and dongh, is the especial pest of bakeries and bread boxes. This species has folly developed wings, and is of a light brown color, with two dark stripes on the pro-thorax.
The free ase of pyrethrnm powder will preserve cloth-bonnd books and similar property from the attacks of these insects, and if ased freely in kitchens and other places wlilch they fteqnent, will render them helpless, so that they may be easUy swept np and jbamed. Pow- dered borax mixed with sngar will also kill them.
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OtTTWNBB OF BNTOMOLOGT.
CHAPTEB XXXI.
Order VII. NBDBOPTEEA. rig. 17.
Dngou-Ay (PlaUHmU trUmaculaU) .
The insectB bere eoneidered ander th« old Order neuropteka are now separated into from two to five minor Orders, according to the importance attached by antbors to the pecaliar development of certain organs, and, more especially, with regard to the different methods of transformatioQ which obtain among them. As very few of these insects are of eoonomic importance, however, and as all the more conspicaona forms agree in general wing strnctnre, and in the possession of biting month parts (except in one gronp, where these organs are entirely nn- developed), it will be more convenient to dJBcoss them as members of a single primary gronp.
In these insects the body wall is soft and flexible, and there is bat little consolidation of segmeuts la any part. The head is nsnally rather large and free; antennte always filiform or bristle-like, but sometimes very short ; eyes, except in a few of the lowliest forms, conspioaoas, and in many speoies occupying the entire sides of the head ; month parts, especially the onter jaws and lips, peculiarly large and strong ; thoracic joints more eqaally developed than in most species of preced- ing orders. The two pairH of wings are composed of delicate, trans- parent membrane, closely netted with fine veins, with strong snpportiug ribs on the anterior margin ; legs, as a rale, rather email and weak ; abdomen slender, oblong or lanceolate, in some cases terminated by a pair of carved forceps or two or three long, bristle-like taUs.
In a portion of these insects the metamorphosis is complete, the pnpal stage of life being one of qniescence and rest; while in the remunder of the fTenroptera the pnpe are active and voraoioas and ^
D.-iiiz'i:;!... V^H-'V.)"-} It
S79 8I1.TB HOBIIOnLUBlI. 800IBTTT.
moH a number of times, altlioaf^h they differ cooBidenbl; ia form from tbe larvfe. Even the winged inflects of h few apecies molt once or twice, a habit that has no parallel in the lifa history of the more highly organized fonns. The great majority of tbe species areaqnatio, and feed npon ingectfl and other small water animals. In their relation to man they are, with the exception of a few small groaps, either neotral or beneficial. The aqnatio species form a large part of the food of fishes, and the few teirestrial species mostly prey on small pests of tbe orchard and garden.
Following the idea of Prof. Gomstoek, it will be convenient to separate the liferve'wiuged insects into two sections, Nbdkoptbka, proper, and PsBUDONBUBOPTEBA. The insects indnded in the first section andergo complete metamorphosis, and are therefore ranked by many authors higher than Hemiptera or Orthoptera, althongh their stractnral peonliarities would not place them in advance of the latter. The principal Camilies of Neoroptera, proper, are the Gaddioe flies (Phbtoinid^), Ant lions and Lace wings (Hbmbbobiadje) and the Hellgiammite flies and others (Bcul.idm). In the Pseadoneu- roptera are groaped a large number of more or less diverse &milies, indodiDg some wingless and degraded parasitic forms. The most interesting and conepicooos species are found in (he ibmilies of the Dragou-flies (LiBBLLULiD^), the May-flies (Efhehbbid^), the Stone- flies (Pbblid^), and the White ants (TBBlnTiD.x). Here also be- long the little creatnrea often seen in old or long unopened books, called book-lice {Psooid^), and the peculiar parasites referred to in a previous chapter, the tme Bird-lice (Mi.LOPHi.aiD£),
The Gaddioe files closely resemble moths in their general outline, but the wings arc of more delicate texture and rather sparsely covered with hairs instead of soalee. The antennie also are like those of moths, being long and thread-like, bat there is no coiled tongue, and the other mouth parts are ditferently developed. The female flies lay their eggs upon water plants, and the aqoatic larvse attract much attention on account of the signlar and ingenious little cases which they coustnict for tbe protection of their soft bodies. These are made of silk, and to the outside are attached small pebbles, coarse sand, or bits of sticks or leaves, giving them very pecnliar and often beautiful forms. Some species make their cases entirely of silk, and of a very elongated cone shape. The thoracic legs are long and strong, and when moving from place to place, the case is dragged along over the hinder end of the body, bnt when resting or molting the lvrv& retires within it and closes the opening by a little door or grating, which admits the water neces- sary to respiration, bnt excludes enemies. These case-bearing laivffi
0UTLIMB8 OF BKTOKOLOGT. 577
Btrenms. They feed npon small water inseots and vegetation. Prof. Comstock describes a species that makes a very simple case under stones in rapid streams, bat excites maeh admiration b; its ingenaity in fishing, catching its prey by means of a seine-like web stretched be- tween two atones.
The Ant-lions (genna Myrmsleim) are very delicate and beantifnl flies, with slender bodies and oblong, lace-like wiQgs, sometimes plun, sometimes ornamented with block dots (see lower flgare in plate). They have a graceful flight, and are occasionally attracted into onr lamp-lighted rooms at night. The larvie are ugly and ferocious look- ing. The body is rongb and broad-oval in shape, and the flattened head is provided with a proportionately enorinoas pair of piooer-like mandibles, adapted for seizing and holding its victims while they are pierced and comminnted by the mazillfe. These larvEe dig funnel- shaped or saucer-shaped pits In sandy soil, with a strwght shaft in the center in which they hide, supporting themselves with the tips of the gaping jaws just above the edge, ready to close with lightning-like rapidity on any nnlacky ant or other insect that carelessly strays over the edge of the pit-&ll8 and alides into the trap at the bottom. If the insect obtains its footing and attempts to crawl np the steep sides it is brought down with showerB of sand thrown npon it by the enraged and disappointed ant-lion, and it is bat very rarely that it eseapei. These larvae are called "doodle bags" in some parta of the conntry, and are most commonly foand on the margins of streams and in shel- tered ravines. [Fig. 48.]
M^liff.,! The Lace-wing flies are another small 11 1 1/. > f group of terrestrial l^europtera. They ■^arepretty but fragile and ill-odored flies, atkika, aneiBiiey. of a pale green or rosy buo, the wings re-
fleeting prismatic colors. The antennse are thread-like and nearly as long as the body, and the round eyes gleam like jewels. The oval pale green eggs aro laid in clnsterB, each attached to the top of a slender aiUcen stalk. This is supposed to be a precaationary instinct of the parent fly to preserve them &om tbe rapacity of the larva that hatches first. The larvie are called "Aphis-lions" ft'om the small insects which are their more especial ptey. They are of depressed oval form with pincer-like jaws and long, rather sprawling legs. Tbey render valaable aid to the farmer and horticulturist in clearing his trees and other plants of plant lice, bark lice and similar small pests. When fall grown they enclose themselves in roand white cocoons, which are closed on top by a lid that is easily pushed ap when the fly is ready to emerge. H E— 37
... v^iwO'
igle
578 BTATK HOBTIOrLTUSUi BOOIBTT.
The Hellgrammite fly and the other, mnoh smaller, species of the fluaily SoiAUD^ have carDivorous larvte that live under stones id ran- ning water. The large fly above named fVorytlalU comvtusj is the only conapicnoDS member of the gronp. This is one of the largest, if not the very largest, insect in the Order — the length being between two and three inches, with a wing expanse of about five inches. It is quite common in most sections of the United States. The body is soft, with the pro-thoracic joint rather narrow, forming a sort of neck to which the mnch broader and rather sqoare head is closely joined. The eyes are rather small and wide apart, and the stoat, many-jointed antennee taper to a point In the female the jaws are broad, corred and notched at the extremity, bttt !u the male these are modified into a pair of long, cylindrical tapering tasks, with which he can clasp the neck of the female. The wings are qnite broad, of rather thick mem- brane, with a fine net-work of veins, and stippled all over with whitish dots. The general color of the insect is a dnll, ash gray. The female lays her eggs on sticka or leaves or stones that overhang the water, protecting and snrroanding them by a white sabstanoe that gives the entire mass the appearance of a splash of whitewash. The larvie, apon hatching, drop into the water. They are formidable-looking creatores when ftaU grown. The head is broad and almost square, with strong jaws and other month parts. The thoracic jointa, of which the first is longest, are qnite elegantly acnlptared. The feet terminate in a pair of daws. The sides of the hind body are famished on each joint with spiny, oar-like processes and feathery tafte for gills, and there are also spiracles throagh which air can be breathed. They are trom two to two and a half inches long by nearly one-half inch in diameter. They are highly esteemed for bait by fishermen, by whom they are termed " crawlers," " dobson," etc. It is said that tbey are nearly three years in completing their growth, and that the transfor- mations are rapid and take place in cells under stones or drift-wood on or near the banks of the stream.
The other insects of this group (genera Chauliodea and SialiaJ bear a close general resemblance to Corydalis jn stmctore and habit, bat are very much smaller and do not attract mnch popular attention.
Among the PsEUDONBUROPTEBi. the most conspioaons and beautiful insects are the Dragon flies or Mosqnito-hawks (Libbllu- i.\DM). These are also called " Darning needles," and have been made objects of terror to children by the tradition that they are constantly watching for an opportunity to " sew up their ears,** or do them some other bodily harm. In other parts of the country they ai-e termed " Snake doctors," and are said to hoveroverthebodiesof deadreptUes
OUTLINES 07 BNTOUOLOQT. 570
and " bring them to life." The probable foaudation for the latter saperatitioD is that they are in parsait of the flies that have been at- tracted by the odor of the carrion. It ie needless to say that they oie absolntely incapable of iDJnriDg any hnman being, and never show- even the disposition to do so. Their motions are very gracefal, and their habits are in the highest degree iateresting. They are most uumerona in the neighborhood of standing vater, and dart back and forth throngh the clonds of mosquites and small gnats, seizing and devoaring them ia great nambers.
Their appearance is familiar to every one. The body is long and slender, tapering backward, and often of brilliant metallic colors, terminating in more or less conspicuoos claspers or other appendages. The Bides of the head are nearly covered by the large eyes ; the anten- nie are very short and bristle-tjpped; the javs are email bat strong, and the parts corresponding to the lips of larger animals are both very large and close completely over the other month parts.
The wings are long, narrow and stiif, the hinder pair a little larger than the others. They are composed of transparent, closely-netted membrane, in many species crossed by broad dark bands or ornamented with spots and cloadings of crimson or orange. The legs are rather soft and weak, and are usef al chiefly as snpports to the body when the insect alights. The females drop their eggs in masses, embedded in a jelly- like sabatance, into the water, or attach them to the submerged stems of aqoatic plants. The larvee are carnivorons, and somewhat resemble the perfect insect in form, bat breathe throngh leaf-like gills at the tip or along the sides of the body. In this age the labium (lower lip) shows a still more remarkable form than in the matare insect; it is very broad and hinged in the middle, and when the insect is at rest .folds op over the &oe like a mask. The anterior edge is famished with a pair of sharp hooks, and the apparatus can be extended to a great length in reaching after the prey, which is seized by the hooks and carried back to the jaws for mastication. The popte, when full grown, crawl up the stems of water plants, to which they cling by their legs, while the fly emerges throngh a slit on the back.
The May flies or Lake flies (EpkemeraJ, of which there are many species, often arise in clouds at night from the shores of lakes or rivers, and in the morning the ground, especially around lamp-posts and under lighted windows, will be covered with their dead bodies. These insects are very soft-bodied and &ail, and, in the perfect state. live bat a few hours— just long enoagh to pair and lay their eggs. The head is small, the greater part of its surface being oocapied by the eyes; the antennfe are very short and flue. The fore wings are broad*
880 STATE HOETIODLTDRAL SOOIETT.
somewhat triangnlar io shape, while the hind wiof^B are scarcely one- foaith their size, and nearly circalar. The legs are slender, the front p^ longer than the others. The abdomen tapers backward, and ends- in two or three brietle-like appendages that are twice or three times the length of the body. The eggs are simply dropped into the water in a maes. The yoang feed npon minate aquatic vegetation or prey upon microscopic animals. Some species, whose habits have been Btadied in aqnaria, have been observed to molt more than twenty- times, and to reqnire from one to three years in which to complete their growth. Among other anomalons characters found in these lar- Tffi are a pair of large tracheal gills attached to the nnder side of the head. Another singular phenomenon occnrs in these insects — namely^ the molting of the perfect insect. The first winged form is called the sab-imago. This rises into the air, bat after a short flight settles npon some object and rapidly sheds its skin, wings, legs, candal bristles and all, leaving behind it the filmy integument of the sub-imago.
The Stone flies fPerlidtsJ, so called because the young are com- monly found under stones in running water, are much larger than the May flies, and resemble, in general form and structare of the body and wlugs, the Hellgrammlte fly, althongh none of the species are so large as the hitter. The hind wings are also proportionately much broader, and have few cross-veins. Some very minate species appear very early in the spring, and are called Snow flies, being often coinci- dent with late snows.
The Termites or white ants abound chiefly in tropical regions^ where they are excessively destrnctive and difScalt to contend with. A few species also occur In temperate climates, and one, Terntea flavipea^ is found In all parts of the United States, and often does much damage to the sills of bnildings and wooden sidewalks, to fence poBt« and similar property. In the Southern States it also occasionally attacks the rootjB and trunks of orange trees, and the roots of Pampas grass. It feeds, however, by preference upon dead wood, and works so in- Bidioasly that its presence is not even suspected nntil the walls of a building give way, or an article of fnrnitnre drops in pieces apon being- moved. Like the true ants, the Termites are social insects, and live in exceedingly populous colonies. In the tropics many species are mound- bnilders, erecting conical strnctares of earth or wood fiber, held in place with cement, that are from eight to ten feet high. All the more northern species are more secluded in their habite. avoiding the light and excavating chambers deep in the earth or in the centers of the largest stamps. From these, nnder-ground passages and tunnels ex- tend for handreds of feet in every direction. They are all small insects
ODTLIirBS OF BNTOMOLOOT. 581
probably seldom exceeding one-half icoh in length, even in the equa- torial regions, while oar own specieB are only aboat one-flfth of an inch long. In this matter of size, however, one individaal in each colony is an exception. This is the " qneen " or fertile female, whose abdomen becomes eo enormonsly distended with eggs, that it ia from two to six or eight inches in length and of a proportionate thickness. The aver- age size of the queen of Termea Jlavipes is from one to one and one- half inches. These insects are of a dingy white color. The head, with which the excavating is done, is large and homy and very nearly square in shape, except in the "soldiers," in which it is oblong, and pro- vided with long, sharp-pointed mandibles. The thoracic segments are oonstricted anteriorly, bat broaden gradually toward the oval abdomen, which has the eurfiice microacopically hairy. The wings are possessed only by the perfect males and females, and by these for a few hoars only; they are long and narrow, with forked but not netted venation. The legs are qaite long and stoot.
As in the colonies of the trne ants, the Termites are divided into eiutes, each nest oontaing not only males, females and neaters, bat the latter are divided into " workers " and " soldiers," the sole daty of the latter being the defense of the colony, while the workers perform all the labors of sapping and mining, bailding and provisioning the differ- ent cells, taking care of the helpless qaeen and feeding the yonng. Moreover, the sexed indivldaals are of two sorts, " kings " and " qneens" of the first rank, which, upon reaching maturity, acquire wings and make an excorslon into the upper world of light and air before settling down to their one dnty of providing for the contlnnanoe of the colony ; and in addition to these, what are termed " supplemental " kings and qaeena, which never become winged, and whose fauction is to preserve the colony from extermination in ease, after swarming, the workers £iil to secure a genainely royal pair.
The internal economy of Termes' nests has been found very difS- cult to investigate, but so far as it has been observed, corresponds closely to that of the ants. The eggs, as Cast as they are laid, are car- ried out by the workers and placed in other apartments, and the yonng, which are active bnt incapable of taking care of themselves, are fed upon comminuted wood or fnn^ In dae time the males and females acquire wings and make their way out of the nest, but after flying or being wafted by the wind to greater or less distances, fall to the ground and shed their wings. £ach male then seizes a female by his mandibles, and sneh of the ooaples as escape the greediness of birds and carnlvorona inaecte are, it ia said, taken in charge by workers which are on the watch for them, and either taken to old colonies in
582 BTATB HOBTICULrOBAL SOOIBTT.
Deed of new qneens and kings, or a new colony is founded for tliem to people. They are placed in the strongest and moat bealthfnl cbambers and receive every attention, bat are not even permitted to wander aboat the nest, which the qneen wonld indeed be incapable of doing in a very short time. She is sapposed to live for seTeral years, and daring this period lays innnmemble eggs. The swarming of the yoang males and females in sach vast nambere is anderstood to be a provision for cross- fertilization, ae tbe swarmiug &om a iiamber of colonies takes place at once, and the chances are largely in favor of males and females from different colonies coming together. la the event of tbe death of tbe old qneen, and the Cailare to secure a young one after her aerial excar- sloD, a wingless " supplemental " pair are brought into tbe royal apart- ments and tbe colony is preserved by means of their progeny,altbough the latter are not nearly so unmerons as those of the trae qaeen.
THE END.
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iisriDEx:
AddnMoT irelooma T. Sit
Addreu ot BraponM. 10, til
'* Apple HeMl, Johmxy" .................. 1ft
ApplelnKIng Iffl
Afrilcnitnral Aphorlinti IBS
AntnmoFBTOTltffli... IM
Annnkl MHtlng, Bsptwt of Bnral WmU ... 109
AnnnalHeetlTiV. B^ortof 8. HlUer SOS
Annnil Beport ot SMmtirr SSI
AnnQ^l Report of Treumel — WD
BlblloKiaphy— F. A. Sampeon W
Boee and Fmll t9S
Bl^Hlngi of HorUealtnTe 196
Bouny Id School B SBt, «IS
Better Connt; Ilo*di Ml
Coounltteea, StMidiog *
ConatUatlon. B
ConntT <tool>tiaa 6
Commltlcee •ppolntad M, 116
Commlttea'a Bep<nt 47, 3H
Commlttre'e Beport OD Obltnai7 BO
Committee'* RepoitODFlnalBeaolntloni.W, SU
CodUngUoth IW
Cue In selectloDof Seeds IBS
Committee Report on Wwld'e F«lr Wl
Conntrr Gentlaman Note* Ul
SeitTDBtloaor tbe Spuioir... S7
I>OD'bi for Amatenn 140
I>ttIdk Flowen vat
Donbie-floimred Plnm ISI
Slic
. . .SSl,SSS,t8B,Me.tBt. 114
On OreliaTdlDE
OnSprajliiB StT
On Work of the Booletr WD
On World's Fait SSt
On Lindkcapa OudeulDg Sm
OnVinoyardi 818
OnBemat »,S1,SW, B9g
On Marketing SO, SSI
On A
OnPsachei
OnCtaerriei, Plama ST. S
I>eathor D. 8. Holmao ■
Death of Chaa. Pattenon I
Floitcalcnre— Htb. H. B. Johnaon
Oui Beat Bedding Plaola-J. KlrohgrabOT.
Varieties of Apple»-A. Helson
Pean— J. A. Dukea
Thirty Years Ago— C. W.UoTtfaldt 47
Fean— L. F. ani*er BO
Hlndrsnoea— A. A. Blnmer Bt
Costor aFnKFann— 8. W. Ollbert H
OrganliatlOD— B. F. Holbtook DS
OTShaidlng In HiawiDrt-N. F. Murray. ... BS OrsbKrdliig In Ulasonit— Henry Speer. SO, I»6 Orcli aiding In Hlaionrt — Chai, Fstteraon. SSS
Frolt Shipping— C. T. HsUlnohrjdt SI
OnilnaectFrlends—HlsaM. E. Hnrtfflldt. 7S General Obaenations— Hiea M. E. Hnrt-
Mdt BO
Bepoit for the Year— Uli* H. K. Hnrt-
feldt SIS
UllUty Plus Beanty— L A. Ooodman. . .. (M Bnggestlon«forWoria'»FaIr-J.C Ef»n«. 10* Hlisonrl's Opportanity— N. F. Hnnay. . . 3H
HoTtloaltnTB— Hn. J. H. PTetilneer SIS
Out Flowering Bnlba— Hana NIelson SIT
HoiUonltnral Geology— B. Walters SIS
Winter Work— J. A.Dorkes SSI
Tarledea ol Aoples— F. Uonbergeo' S40
Spraying onr Fruits— J, W. Claik SIS
nietoryof theApple— J. W. Taylor S51
Barries in SontbMtiaODri—Q.W. Hopkins- S5T Bertlea In Bontti UlHOarl— J. H. Lofcan... SW
BmJealnNarthMliMinri- H. Bchnall 160
Berries la North Hlasoorl- Sam'l Miller. . S9S Berrlee In CfcrthMUsonri-^.N:. Menifee.. SM
BcsrieilnKanios— B. F. Bmlth ,. UO
Roadside PI antIng~G. E. Eessler S«l
Hnmbngs— J. G. Kinder 18S
Floricnltnre-J M. Jordan aeo
Fmlt Cnltnre— Mrs. H. T. Burrls MS
Hortionltnie In Bohoola-'BeT. W P. Ann- Strong SS8
HortloQltnre and Homo— Mrs. Q. £. Dn-
gan S7S
Hortlonltnre In Hlseoori S7S
Evaporating Fmits — J. B. Dntand US
Planting Orchards— H. B. Frands tC8
Propagation of Trees— J. O. Klndo' BID
FmlU and Flowers— U. L. Bonbam SIS
Vineyards— J, Bommell >1T
Plnma-Jaoob Faith SI8
IiOwOrehard Land*— C. T. MalUnokrodt. SSI
Nursery man— J. Diaeh sis
Organization -A. Nelson 3M
HortloQltnre and Society- W A. Smiley.. SM Personal AasoolBtlon— C. I Bobarda SIS
Faoe
ExperleDoe— J. M. moa M8
The Poor HortJenltinlat—L. Gdcer S40
Kun«7iiuin'iTilBli— U. J. WvbOT Stt
Eipaitence Id CtouIus 411
Xlectiou orOflleen ttO
mut without 8«edi IM
Tlowtn M. 1«6
Fpngl - ^." ^,..^,., ,.,.....->. 888
Frnlt-grawliiK IB HlHoml 888
FertlliMnfOrOicbUds S8t
Fighting the tirODiid Hole 400
ijlui BtTactnret 8M>
OTBMwt Battle Field MB
Qnal New York Flowor Show 411
Hot WalBTTe. Steun— L. B. Tail IX
Biator7 of the Stale Soeletj— C. W. Unrt-
teldt MO
Hlitor; of tb« State Bodatr— r. A, SMlp-
Bardy Pllnia aikd Treee 186. 418
FoTirty 187
QreatlfeB 187
Freah FroJtt 178
Piano Tre« ISO
ATrip 180
Toadi.Blida 1S4
iDTitatiDDi saa
Tenbomr and AdI 94
J B. Jenklna M
Pnrdy, UoGrasot A Co H
L. V.DantMth S4
Cbaa. Patl«r*on 18
w. P, staik SB
Nat Stepheoa
Xdw. D, Poiteir
<i. X. Metaaner
It. X. Aimatraig.
B. W. SpMUiig
Dt. A. Qoalln
H. A.EulBD
T. F.MUler
T.T. LifOa
N. F.Mnnar
J . DaTtdaon
J. Gamble
LoDKerltj of Tree*
Uit ot TTMa GiTBD b; tba
Uat or Fmlta Taking PieminiM
MaDon VJ,
HIaaoail'g Apple Crop
Hlulon orCoantt7 BoT
NewOrapea
New PUnta
Kotee on HtTbaeeoua UraftlDB
Ontllnei otBntoiDolotj— HtMK.E. Hnrt- faidt
Onlra&Me
OrDHnental Bedj:e
Ohio StatlOD BolleUn— etMwbeny
Poleon In Food Plant*.
Potato, Bnial No. S.
Fotatoea tor Seed
Plantain- iTjPolaoB m
PmnlnR Roaea ifl
People Will Talk in
Farming In Palestine MS
NewVMletieearFnilU lU
Hy UreeD-honu Planta US
BUdaotSoDtb Amerioa 118
How Beat to Market Frnlta IM
AVlBlttoJodgeUlller'a UT
Women In Bortimltnte Ul
Bomn Btnnge Planta 181
Pilnc] plea of Lawn Planting W
Tender Soaea Ut
Onr Eipiirlenoe Itf
Hiieooil Onihanb 181, IBS
Paachea In St. Lonla aoon^ 408
Peitect and ImperlMt Flowei* 418
PeaohTellowa. 4U
Quean or Floweia 408
Report of SecietaTj 88, Kl
Uepozt of Treaanm 41, an
Tbe Aiaenitea 81, 98
The Bordean mixture. Prntltoim 87
Tobaooo 88
Praeerratlfe Flnlda 80, M
Snlpbnrlng Fmlta M
Bnlpmde of Soda 88
Keeping: Cnl Floweri 181
Potaonlngtba Sparrow Ut
Prerentlng Apple acab 101
Boae Katea 887 408
Bepoitaor ooantlea^
Unn ooonty S4B, 8U, 887
Jaap«r oonnty 840
Camll oonnty 881
Knox oonntr 884
Ba; oonnty 188, 871
Caldwell oonnty SSB
Webater ooanty 888
Platte oonnty 881
Camden oonnty 881
Hontgomray oonnty 01, 888,878, 878
Holt oonnty .M, 88B
Batler coonty BT
Ori>«on ooanty m
Temon oonnty 888
Henry oonnty 881
Greene oonnty 180
Wiaonrl Valley Soolety 118
minolB State Sotdety 116, 881
SMn'l Miller 18
F. LiMibetget VT
B. W, Speeon 87
Henry BchnflU , 87
On Bonania HMpbeny 141
On Entomology SM
By Ulu MortTeldt 818
Spraylog 147, Ml
Sbmba 1», 184
8in»1IFmlM 80
Statton Reporta:
Iowa 148
Imaetta IM
I Ml
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ThtStiiUKeroa the Bill Tree Label* ThlunliiK Fruit The Largeat Apple Ttm |
m m 181 181 U...188, IM m |
PldB |
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UuorfaaglddM TentUMlon |
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The Big Treea ot Cslltanii* TelegnuDB |
Wlio li tbe Itaeoilit! |
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INDEX TO OUTLINES OF ENTOMOLOGY-
AouthiluB 9M
AdridliliB MS
AdepbagB BOI
JSftAidn US
Al]llIl*U,OlBUUlMtlOD(rf 401
Andrentda
AmnelltU lU
Aats
Amt-Ilon BT7
Anthophil*
Apbidl<te »7
ApbodUds SIS
AppI e onrcallo BSl
Apple manot HT
Apple- tree buk-IOtlM ISO
■ilgynali MI
Army ironn W
Adllds M
AAtCTlM bnttelfly IW
AttalsUdB as*
Back iwlmmen tU
Bald-ftued hornet
Bark beetle! tn
Bad-bus Ul
Bad-bD« taODteV SH
Beee
Blsbed-bu« W
BUlbnga Btt
Blatldn.. Bra
BUiter bnatlM 020
Bine-bottle SlH H7
Bombardier beetle DOE
BombylldB H4
Bomb^cidB DSs
Batata* IMS
BniehldB lie
Bn«B Mi
BoAlo trae-hoppar 65T
Burying beetle! WM
Uabbase bntteifly SKI
LaddlMUae BT*
CalaidildB B91
Caloptanna Bpratna B70
Canker wocma B38
Cannibal beetlea m
Caatheria Uo
Capilda IS]
Ti.am
Carpantex beea
Catooala UT
CoddomrldB 6tt
Ceeiopia moth US
CenmbyoldiB IIS.
ChesMlly H7
Cbalotdtg
Chlamyi El<^
Qnyialldea IM
Cleadldie US'
ClTcnlaloiY iTRtetn lU
CUMiOeattoQ 4ea
ClaTleoTnla BOC-
Clytu IIS
Cookioaobea 174
CooeinelldB lOI
Cooddldn loa
Codling motb on
CoUaa. OSO
Colaoptera G0&
Conehead IBS
Copiida. as
CoHmelnnlda m
Com worm SOI
Corydalli 0T8
Coainoptsra DUt
Oiaue Ilea M>
Ciemaater OH
CriokeK BOO
Cioton bog tH
Craetana 461
CullddiB OO
Cnronllonlda Bit
Conoila ITS
Cyolorapha 0*1
Cynlplda tSft
Daoala Oil
I>«nnaitea 008-
Digger waap
Dog-day fly 05$
Doryphoia BIS
Dragon lllei 078
DniepblUds M7
ElatrrldiD Kl»
Eniomology Ul
Ephennrlda Hft
Bplcanta BMK
BxcTementlyoTa BU
ExteTD*! atmcliiTe. Fattber-wlniv
F1«M
Fiiw a»
Foimlem
Frtnge-wlng» MB
FlTilt weerlU MS
G*Uss*U UK
G«oiii8tddr Ma
Olant water- bog UD
Qoldamltb beetle UB
OrapevliM le>r-bapp«t ltS7
GiapeTlna pbyUoiMm HH
CJraptt Ota
QtMshoppen SSg
Haokt»iT7 batUoHr sxs
Hulcqnln bug DAS
Hellgnmmlts 07 678
HsmlpMra KB
HerblTOiB G12
Hesptriila BSl
HgactMillr 54S
HAterooeTA im
HfltaramerR. B19
mppuobi* Dia
Uauej bgs
Horn IliM W7
Horn tallB Ml
Horn BlM BU
Honteorloketa DM
HoDM (Ilea Mfl
Hmnblr ben —
Hjmenopteta
Hypoderma MO
IdiDenmoii Or US
Imaio 4M
Inaeet 401
laomcTa DOS
Iwoma *e7
JaaddB BBT
Jigger ue
Katydid. BB7
Lace-wing B77
Lacbaoatenia ttlt
Lady- blnla J07
LaniBllicornla Sll
LampjTidn BOB
Lancet Hlea OU
L«B(-b«etlea BIO
Leaf-cbafen BU
Lear-rollora G38
Leblagrandla BOB
Lepldoptna BU
Lice Ml
LI me- tree moth 088
LocnalldB 607
LonglcoTDB BU
Lncanlite Bll
LjcBoidas BI9
Lygxldn BOI
HanUdn 03S
Uany-bauded Bobber. EB<
Faok
Hapla worm UT
HaaoD bsaa
Haybeotle BU
May fllM B7»
Heal beetle BW
HRalybosB SW
UaloloathldB BU
MembiaeldB. BBT
UetamoTplioBia 4M
Hlgiatory loeuta. BOt, M»
Male otlakct BBB-
Mocba BO-
Hnaoalar lyatem i4t
Hmgantla Uatiioiiloa BBS
HiuoiiliB BM
MyHapoda 4B1
Uyrmlca
Neooph jTldB BOT
NepEda U*
Nerrona lyatem Ml
Neoropteia sn
Meoiopteis, lamlUaa of. BTO
NoetUdB BIT
NoumeeUdn BU
MntweerlU m
HymptaalidB BtD
OMlpoda cn
(EitTtdK BU
Onoldeiea. BIB
OnioaOy Bil
Orange aeale BOO
Oitboptera Mt
Orltaoptera, hmlliesof BBS-
Ortbia'apba SU
OMlnldB BIT
Owlet moth* BIT
PanalUaa en
Partbenoceneali BB8
Papllto a»
Pea w«ey|l Sl»
Paetlootiila BU
Perilds 680
Fhaoma oarnltBi: BU
PMtopbaga BW
-Phylloiora B6«
PigeoatiBmBX 600
Plena BH>
Plophlllda BIT
Plaglodeima UB
Plnm onroullo W
Polyphemaa BIB
Preying mantla BIS
PlioDiu BIS
Paandonenniptera E7B
Pnpa tB*
Papipara mt
Ptatophorldn 680
PyraUdiB B»
RapadoD* Soldior-bDg EM
BedoTladB BBS
ReprodDctlve oigana «*
ReaplratlOD 4B>
Bblnoceioa beetle 61)
Rhopalocela BST
BtaTnoophom BU
BobbBi-fllaa Bt*
Dgnz's:;!-.', \_jV_>V_)V|1^
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Jl |
Piom |
r...«. |
PiQ« |
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H0««iig |
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TuniiltldB |
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Thrlpi |
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B«>ljtld» |
H7 |
Torttlcldii. |
MO |
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TrogiiiB Trnebnw TTPetld" rumble buff |
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SmrlooniW |
MO |
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SUpbldH |
Boe |
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Walking lUoki W«p. |
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BquMbbag |
Ul |
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WMllT«PPl«10Il« woodwup* |
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