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TRANSACTIONS OF THE ILLINOIS 



W. A. Ragan, of Indiana, by request of the President, read a paper 

 on Floriculture, but which was not furnished the Secretary for publication. 



DISCUSSION UPON TREE-PLANTING. 



The President called for reports from the Committee on Forestry 

 and Ornamental Tree-Planting, but neither member of the committee 

 responded. 



The following discussion ensued, as this hour had been devoted to 

 the subject in the programme : 



Mr. Minier said : We have no more important subject before this 

 Society than that of Forestry. Some of us are too far advanced in life 

 to expect to reap any pecuniary advantage from this work ourselves — we 

 should have begun it twenty-five years ago — but we may still plant for 

 posterity, for the future prosperity of this great Prairie State. If it takes 

 the Black walnut fifty or even a hundred years to make such great saw- 

 logs as are transported every year it will pay to plant them. 



Mr. Edwards. — We can excuse our friend Robert Douglas, who was 

 on this committee, from reporting, as he has lately buried his companion 

 and a son. 



The Secretary. — Mr. President, We need a little inspiration upon 

 this important matter. I see before me one who, though he lives here in 

 this beautiful city — which he has made beautiful by planting hundreds 

 and thousands of evergreen and deciduous trees upon its lots, squares 

 and along its streets — has for quite a number of years been associated 

 with other enterprising gentlemen in making extensive timber plantations 

 in our sister State — Iowa. I would be pleased to hear from the Honor- 

 able Jesse W. Fell. 



Mr. Fell. — Mr. President, I rise to say that in correspondence with 

 Dr. Warder, and perhaps with your Secretary also, I promised that I 

 would try to prepare a paper to be presented to this meeting, giving the 

 results of our tree-planting in Northwestern Iowa, but the demands upon 

 my time have been so urgent of late that I found it quite impossible to 

 do so; I will try to have a paper ready for your next annual meeting if 

 life and health are spared. 



Several of us are associated together in this enterprise ; we com- 

 menced planting nine years ago, and have planted hundreds of thou- 

 sands — yes, millions of trees, of which hundreds of thousands are now 

 pushing their way upward, and some of them are thirty-five feet high. 

 We have planted five hundred and ninety-nine acres of land with trees in 

 the vicinity of Larchwood. 



