TWENTIETH ANNUAL MEETING. 75 



I might go on througli every phase of the work in fruitgrowing and find 

 plenty of questions requiring experimental work to settle. The ones 

 indicated have occurred to me as being the most important, as well as the 

 most difficult to settle. I hope to live long enough to see their solution 

 undertaken by our stations. 



At conclusion of the above the secretary read the subjoined paper by Z. 

 J. Davis of Jackson: 



WHAT EXPERIMENTS AEE NEEDED BY THE GARDENEES? 



As this society has been kind enough to allow me to monopolize some of 

 its valuable time and attention, with a statement of " What experiments 

 are needed by the gardeners?" I would say that the gardeners of this 

 community would be very thankful should the society deem it worth the 

 time and labor that it would cost for any information which might be 

 gained by experiments — 



First, to lessen the cost of production, either by a proper kno-^ledge of 

 the use of fertilizers, care of the soil, mode of culture, or by mMhods to 

 combat successfully against the attacks of insects and diseases injurious to 

 the garden; 



Second, to imijrove any variety of vegetable; 



Third, for any improvements in the ways of preserving vegetables through 

 the winter. 



Under the first heading, the needs which are most keenly felt in this 

 vicinity, by the gardeners, are ways to exterminate cut- worms; yellow- 

 striped bugs found on cucumber and squash vines when the vines are quite 

 young; a large brown bug having a peculiar odor, which attacks the roots, 

 leaves, and fruit of the squash vine; maggots, which infest the roots of 

 early cabbage, and cabbage worms; also, the cause of and remedy for the 

 disease in the roots of the squash, melon, and cucumber vines, proving the 

 most fatal to squash, both summer and winter. In this case the vines may 

 present a thriving and healthy appearance until thus attacked, when they 

 suddenly wilt and die, which generally occurs about the time the fruit 

 begins to set. Another disease which seems to baffle all efforts to eradicate 

 is the tomato rot. 



In regard to heading number two, it is a fact too widely known to 

 require the assertion that, so long as time lasts, experiments for the pur- 

 pose of perfecting all known varieties of vegetable, and originating new 

 ones, will ever be of the greatest value to the gardener. 



It is an old and true adage that " a penny saved is two earned." 

 Therefore the question arises, how can we save our pennies any more 

 effectually than by saving our vegetables through the winter, so that we 

 may derive the benefit of a good market; but, to accomplish this success- 

 fully, experience and experiments must teach us much now unknown, 

 especially in regard to the preservation of cabbage, onions, and celery. 



VARIOUS QUESTIONS ABOUT PEACHES. 



Mr. Morrill (to Mr. Engle): Do you shorten-in all peach limbs? 

 When all limbs are so treated do they not send out many new shoots, 

 making the top too heavy and thick? Is it not better to shorten only the 

 longer limbs? 



