Summer Meeting. 129 



trained men to pick and pack the apples now. ^^'he^ a firm buys in 

 Chicago, we don't have to have them send their trained men to pack for 

 us. The farmers could do it as well as any one. And some of them can. 

 i have seen it done. 



PLUM OBSERVATIONS. 



(G. E. Adams, Darlington.) 



When I moved upon my place there were 4 trees of the Chickasaw 

 "variety which bore a few plums, and but a few of them ever matured 

 right. Thinking I would have some fine ones, I set out 3 or 4 kinds of 

 the Japanese variety, but the cold winter of '98 and '99 knocked them 

 out, not caring to invest any more at that time in what seemed to be an 

 'expensive luxury (as several of my neighbors were caught heavier than 

 I — one, about 300 trees and three years' care). So I turned' attention to 

 my other trees which was not hurt at all. But allow me to say here that 

 the right thing to have done was to set out more trees, for they may not 

 be killed again for years. Well I took some instructions from the Hor- 

 ticulture reports and went after the bugs first by scraping ofif the rough 

 tark and banding them with leather bands. Then I sprayed them three 

 times — once before blooming with Bordeaux mixture. Now I thought 

 T would give them a good dose ; I used my sprayer, but gave them a 

 ,good washing every time. It did not seem to injure the trees or the 

 fruit the least bit. I was laughed at a good deal by people passing and 

 3 heard one woman say as she passed by "Now what kind of a foolish 

 Imsiness has he got on them trees ;" but when I told her what it was 

 for she said she guessed she would try it. Well, foolish or not it was 

 the best crop I ever raised, about 90 per cent, being smooth and sound. 

 T will treat all of my trees the same way if weather will permit and set 

 out some more of my native sprouts this spring. 



H-9 



