REPOKTS OF AUXILIARY SOCIETIES. 295 



the sod bore least; so he would never think of seeding down a vineyard. A 

 system of pruning cannot be followed with exactness, but variations within the 

 bounds of good judgmenc must be used. Delawarcs can be raised best by 

 cutting back severely. 



Mr. Buck once had 300 vines of fourteen varieties, but the rose bugs did so 

 much damage that he quit raising grapes. 



Mrs. Holton said a solution of chloride of lime would kill rose bugs and 

 many other insects, including the cabbage worm. 



Mr. Buck said it might do so, but it or any other such remedy could only be 

 applied with great ditriculty. These bugs appear from the 8th to the 13th of 

 June. They do not stay long,. but come in swarms, eating besides the grapes, 

 the best peaches, certain sorts of apples, and even clover. They work chiefly 

 on sandy soils. 



Mr. Latta called attention to the face that the best fruit grown here is seldom 

 obtainable in the village marlfet. Several members said it was the fault of the 

 dealers, who would not pay a proper price for it. Some of them do not know 

 what really good fruit is. The grape market is ruined each year by the offer- 

 ing by certain growers of fruit somewhat colored but not ripe. The dealers 

 take it at the first of the season, and, being unable to sell it, refrain afterward 

 from buying that which is ripe and good. Thus the poor, unripe stuff fixes 

 the price or prevents the sale of the best fruit. One member, after being 

 offered but two cents per pound for his grapes by the grocers, sold them from 

 his wagon for seven. Another said the best Iruit was produced by the com- 

 mercial growers, who, not being able to sell all their product in the home mar- 

 ket, shipped the whole away, leaving only the imperfect fruit of the small 

 growers to supply the home market. Others had been able to sell to consum- 

 ers all the finest of their fruit at good prices — indeed, had been unable to sup- 

 ply all orders. The people thought this society should hit upon a plan by 

 which people of the village could be supplied with the best fruit, and it was 

 thought by several that a system of ordering through the society could be 

 arranged. 



'e>^ 



June 3feeting. 



A large attendance and a good time were the characteristics of the June 

 meeting of the pomological society, at Geo. T. Lay's, in Monterey, the only 

 preventive to perfect enjoyment being the unusual coolness of the air. Over 

 twenty members or visitors were present, the ladies and Mr. Lay's family 

 making the number up to about fifty. 



Mr. Lay's farm is a large one for this region, consisting of 520 acres, much 

 the greater portion being under cultivation, well tilled, lenced, and fertilized. 

 There are great stretches of meadow, large wheat and corn fields, a ten-acre 

 apple orchard perhaps not equaled in condition by any in the county, and a 

 large peach orchard, a part of which, about one acre, was among the first 

 planted in this vicinity, the profits from which induced the growing of many 

 another. The younger trees of the tract are now well filled with fruit. Mr. 

 Lay does not seem to give particular attention to stock, to the raising of which, 

 however, his farm is well adapted. There are several large and well-built barns 

 which at the right season bulge with the wealth of fields and render it up as a 

 reward of the summer's toil. A pleasing feature of the premises is their perfect 

 repair and cleanliness. The house is a large and pleasant one, comfortably 

 furnished, and in a way that seems to show that it was meant to be a home 

 rather than a mere dwelling-place. Therein Mr. Lay, with his wife and several 



