VALLEY HOETICULTURAL SOCIETY. 283 



have one large general experiment station for the whole state, and 

 smaller ones for each horticultural division, and sub-stations for each 

 county. With all these trial and experiment stations in the hands 

 of wide-awake, live men, it need not be long before our orchard 

 sites will again be planted with trees that will give fair satisfaction, 

 and the importation of apples into Illinois cease to be a necessity. 



SPECIAL MARCH MEETING. 



Notwithstanding the storm Saturday, twenty-five of Kankakee 

 County's substantial horticulturists and farmers assembled at the 

 supervisors' room, at the Special Horticultural Meeting, to discuss 

 tile drainage. 



The meeting was called to order by President Mile Barnard. 

 Minutes of the last meeting were read and approved as published. 

 After some discussion, the subject of " Trees and Small Fruit Plant- 

 ing'' was selected for discussion at the next meeting, April 14th. 



Mr. Cunningham proceeded to open the discussion on tile drain- 

 age by reading an interesting paper on the effects of drainage, in 

 which he took the ground that tile drainage has become a craze; 

 that millions of dollars are annually spent in its advancement, and 

 that the general effects of tile drainage are not beneficial to the 

 country, but advised draining the surplus water into reservoirs or 

 ponds for convenience of the farm. 



He was followed by Messrs. 0. W. Barnard, Mortimer, Dr. Small, 

 Lee, Voight, Greenwood, Powell, Major Williams and others, all of 

 whom were strong advocates of tile drainage. The remarks of some 

 were quite lengthy, and the discussion, as a whole, was very enter- 

 taining, but being entirely oral it is impossible to give even a brief 

 report that would do it justice. There were different views taken of 

 almost all divisions of the subject, but a majority of the members 

 favored deep tiling with good outlets. 



In regard to tree roots filling tile. Dr. Small said tile laid thirty 

 years ago, twenty feet from a large elm, had not been injured by the 

 roots, while a well the same distance from the tree had been ruined. 

 When the tile is running, and the ground is full of water, it is not 



