apO ILLINOIS STATE HORTICULTUKAL SOCIETY, 



gets quite solid. The Golden wax-bean is another of the novelties that 

 has sustained the claims made for it as an early snap or bush bean; it is 

 quite stringless and is of extra good quality, besides being very productive 

 and as early as any bean that I have ever raised. 



Last spring I received from Department of Agriculture seven small 

 potatoes, the combined weight of which was thirteen ounces. They were 

 called the "Beauty of Hebron." Each potato gave ten eyes, making 

 when cut seventy sets ; these were planted in test rows with forty-three 

 other varieties. I must confess to some misgivings when I committed 

 these diminutive reminiscences of Solanum tuberosu?n to the bosom of 

 mother Earth; but, behold, she proved a good and generous nurse, for 

 when dug in the fall the little thirteen ounces had increased to one hun- 

 dred and eight pounds of tubers, all large, smooth and regular in shape, 

 with no small ones at all. The quality of this potato I think superior to 

 any I have ever tasted. 



The varieties above mentioned, as planted for test, were all treated 

 alike, as to soil, culture, etc.; all were planted in drills, sets dropped 

 fourteen inches apart, each set having one eye or bud; at time of dig- 

 ging the Beauty of Hebron yielded fifty-five per cent, more than any 

 other variety; Snow-flakes stood second; Early Rose, third; Kartofi"el- 

 weiss (a new variety received last year from Germany) was fourth on the 

 scale, and so on down the list to Compton's Surprise, which, singular 

 as it may appear, was the poorest of the lot. 



It appears to me as useless to append here, as it is customary, a long 

 string of varieties of vegetables, which I might perhaps claim as best ; as 

 soils, locations, exposures, etc., etc., differ so much it is probable that 

 those v^hich would be of value with me might be without value in other 

 localities; therefore I shall omit such list and advise each to test for 

 himself as to what would be of greatest value to him in his own peculiar 

 locality. 



Insects in general have done but llittle damage to the vegetable 

 garden the past season ; for the striped-beetle and also the squash-beetle 

 continued applications of land-plaster have kept them sufficiently in 

 check, even where it has not wholly banished them. 



I have saved cabbages from destruction by Pieris rapce by using 

 strong lime-water, to which was added one or two grains carbolic acid 

 (reduced to solution) to each gallon of lime-water, applying the mixture 

 with watering-pot with a fine rose attached. This application was made 

 twice a week from the time the butterfly made its appearance until fall ; 

 the consequence was that I had a fine lot of good cabbages, which brought 

 me good prices. 



DISCUSSION UPON THE REPORT. 



Prof. Thomas. — In the southern part of the State we are flooded 

 with Eastern seeds, which not only are old seeds sent out over and over 

 again, but we cannot get the kinds we want — the varieties are not always 

 those named upon the package. For instance, last spring I wanted some 



