TRANSACTIONS AT ANNUAL MEETING.

AGRICULTURAL ROOMS, February 4, 1878,

7 1-2 P. M.

In pursuance of the call of the president and secretary, the opening session of the annual meeting was held at the agricultural rooms in the state capitol on the evening of February 4. As many of the members had not yet arrived, it was thought advis. able to defer the delivery of the president's address until the morning session, and the time was given to social greetings, discussions and the appointment of the regular business committees. Correspondence, with the secretaries and members of other societies was read by the secretary. A letter from Prof. Thomas Taylor, microscopist of the Agricultural Department at Washington, was read, expressing regret that it was not possible for him to accept the invitation extended by the society to deliver an address at the annual meeting on fire blight, and expressing the hope that he would be able to do so at some future time. On the motion of the secretary, the president was again instructed to extend to him an invitation to meet with us at our June meeting.

President Smith gave an account of his strawberry crop the past season; it had been a very poor one, barely paying expenses; many of the vines had been killed by the grub worm, the larva of the May beetle, and in the spring, a brown cut worm had destroyed many more, eating off the vine and shoots near the surface, as soon as they came up; they were very numerous, and owing to their habit of working in the night and burrowing in the ground by day, were hard to exterminate; his vines had also been injured by other causes; had blossomed very full, and what were left by the worms gave promise of an abundance of fruit, but a large proportion of the blossoms blasted; little fruit set; he attributed this injury to high winds, as the outer edges and those portions of the beds most exposed in the direction from which the strong winds came, were affected the most.

G. P. Peffer said the best remedy for this cut worm was to destroy them while in the moth or winged state; for many years he had suffered much injury from them, but had accidentally discovered how to trap them, and now they did little damage. In making vinegar, he had vats and barrels of cider standing open, and

found that multitudes of moths were attracted by the scent of cider in the night time, and were drowred in it; had observed before, they had been usually very thick around old pomace when thrown out, but had not taken the hint, until he found his cider all covered with them.

M. L. Clark recommended the use of ashes, salt, lime and plaster; putting a handful of the mixture around each hill.

Mr. Palmer thought that if we knew the habits of the cut worm we would suffer less by them, and could more easily destroy them; he had planted corn on sod ground, where they were very thick, and had received but little injury from them; he planted late, when the worms were nearly mature; were very thick at and near the surface, but they soon disappeared entirely.

A. G. Tuttle had seen fruit blossoms blasted by high winds, especially, the southeast wind; had trees in his own orchard that bore in alternate years on alternate sides; this was doubtless occasioned by some cause, which, in a fruit bearing year, destroyed the fruit on one side of the tree and did not affect the other; this alternation of fruit bearing and barren years on both sides of the tree, results rather from the condition in which the crop of the previous year left the tree, than in the accidents of the season; where a tree bears full one year, it will not bear the next; and by using care, preventing exhaustion by overbearing, we can secure fruit nearly every year.

A letter from Judge Cate was read by M. L. Clark, asking the cause of injury to grape vines the past season; although well protected during the winter, and apparently sound and healthy when uncovered, with fresh, green looking buds, yet many of them failed to germinate; some of the vines died out, root and branch, and others made but a feeble growth.

Mr. Greenman thought it was doubtless caused by the roots freezing dry the previous winter.

The secretary said the fall of 1876 was very wet, and there was too much moisture in the ground when winter set in to attribute the loss to dry freezing; he thought that much of the damage was the result of the late growth of wood, caused by the wet fall, and that the buds were immature and the wood lacking in hardiness. The following committees were appointed by the president: On Revision of Premium List -G. J. Kellogg, C. H. Greenman, and B. B. Olds.

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On Conference with the State Agricultural Society—J. S. Stickney. On Revision of List of Fruits to be Recommended — G. P. Peffer, J. C. Plumb and A. J. Philips.

On Resolutions-C, H. Greenman, Samuel Hunt and N. N. Palmer.

On Programme.-A. G. Tuttle, G. J. Kellogg and M. L. Clark.

TUESDAY, February 5, 9 A. M.

The society was called to order by the president, and the report of the committee on programme was received and adopted.

M. L. Clark, delegate of the Lemonwier Horticultural Society, gave an interesting account of the operations of that society for the past year, indicating an increase of interest and activity on the part of its members.

President Smith gave a report from the Brown County Horticultural Society, showing an increased membership and a much greater interest in the discussion of horticultural and agricultural subjects. The past season, they had held monthly meetings for reading of papers and the discussion of practical questions, and had found them to be very interesting and useful.

In connection with these reports, the question of the distribution of the Annual Reports of the State Society was brought up. Mr. Clark said their society was very anxious to secure a copy for each member; that many had been induced to join by the promise of this and other reports, and when it was announced that they could not be obtained, much dissatisfaction had been felt, and many had been kept from joining the society. President Smith said members of their county society were very anxious to get more; each member would like to get them if they could be spared, but they did not want more than their share.

Mr. Tuttle thought that it would not be advisable, in fact, would not be practicable to offer a copy of our report to every member of local societies; if such inducements were held out, large lists of names could be obtained in certain localities, and our present limited number would soon be exhausted; he thought, for the number printed, that fifty copies to each local society was a very liberal supply; if one section received an excess, others would have to do without. The volume was held out by the society as an inducement to increase its membership, and if used thus freely to build up other memberships, it would tend to diminish its own.

Mr. Stickney was anxious to do what we could to help build up and encourage other societies, but the number of books at our command, and the fact that our volume is one of the inducements we offer to get members, on the fees from whom we are entirely dependent for the means to defray our expenses, he did not deem it advisable to supply them as freely as was thus proposed; he thought that fifty copies to each society was as large a number as could be spared, of the present number published, in justice to the society and other parts of the state; if more were wanted by members of other societies, they could readily obtain them by joining our society; the volumes were well worth the money. To enable members of other societies to secure an additional number of our reports and at the same time aid the state society, he would present the following resolution:

Resolved, That this society offer fifty volumes of its Transactions to the local society which shall furnish to this society the largest number of members; and twenty-five volumes to the society which shall furnish to this society the second largest number of members, previous to our June meeting; provided, that these awards shall not be made unless at least ten members shall be furnished by one society. Lists of members furnished, to remain strictly confidential with our board of officers until our June meeting, at which time the matter shall be decided and awards made.

Which was unanimously carried.

The annual address of President Smith, and the report of the secretary were read. (See pp. 9, 13.)

President Smith said, in dissent from the statement of the secretary, that the currant crop at Green Bay was far from being a failure, his own bushes were loaded with fruit, and many of his neighbors had good crops.

Mr. Stickney was of the opinion that generally the crop was a failure throughout the whole state. In some few locations there may have been a partial crop. The failure was due, in part, to the winter and late frosts in spring, and in part to the green currant worm and borer.

TREASURER'S REPORT.

The following report was presented by the treasurer: To the officers of the Wisconsin State Horticultural Society:

Your treasurer wishes to report that the receipts and disbursements of the society for the past year have been as follows:

On motion, the treasurer's report was accepted and adopted. An interesting report was read by G. J. Kellogg, superintendent at the state fair (see reports).

JUNE MEETING. Mr. Tuttle, in behalf of the Sauk County Horticultural Society, extended an invitation to the state society to hold its June meeting at Baraboo

Mr. Clark invited the society to meet again with the Lemonweir Valley Horticultural Society, assuring a hearty welcome, and an addition to the list of members from that section. After a short discussion, it was thought advisable, as the society had met so recently with the Lemonweir Society, to accept the invitation of the Sauk County Society. It was so determined.

Mr. Stickney moved that in order to avoid the embarrassing situation in which we had been placed at some of our meetings, it be expressly understood, that the arrangements for and the management of the June meeting be wholly in the hands of the local society; that the state society should make provision for papers to be read, and for the discussions at the meeting, and its members should take part, not as a society, but as individuals; which was carried.

The committee appointed to confer with the State Agricultural Society in relation to premiums at the State Fair, reported, that society was willing to renew the proposition and conditions of last year, "The Horticultural Society to offer $600, in premium1s; the premiums not awarded to revert to the State Agricultural Society." The report was accepted and adopted.

The following resolution was introduced by Mr. Stickney, and passed:

Resolved, That new varieties of strawberries, to be entitled to recommendation from the society, should be shown at least once in single berries, and on the stem.

Mr. Clark exhibited the body of a Transcendent tree, blackened and shrivelled by disease, and asked for information as to what it

was.

Mr. Tuttle said it was the blight; sometimes it affects the top of the trees only, and then again it strikes on the body; he regarded it as a disease, coming and going like diseases of the human family. Sometimes it prevails extensively, and then again it nearly disappears for a time. Had been known at the east for over forty years, and described by Downing, Barry and others.

Mr. Peffer mentioned that the past season, blight had made its appearance early in the summer, while the weather was quite cool, which led him to conclude it was not wholly the result of atmospheric conditions, as hitherto supposed by some; he thought where blight struck the body of the tree, it was because the tree was injured in the winter or spring.

Mr. Philips read a humorous report on fruit culture from S. R. McKinly, of Hamilton, for which the thanks of the society were returned, and Mr. McKinly was made an honorary member.

Mr. Stickney gave notice of the next meeting of the Nursery men's Association, to be held at Rochester, N. Y., and by vote o the society was appointed to make arrangements to facilitate the attendance of a delegation from the state society.

On motion of Mr. Kellogg, Messrs. A. R. Whitney, H. B. Em