STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 73 



fruit will make a better return in yield and quality for heavy 

 manuring than the blackberries. 



Thus a farmer can have, if he will, on a plot of ground con- 

 venient to the house— two hundred yards long, by thirty yards 

 wide, three rows of strawberries, one of gooseberries, two rows 

 of asparagus and rhubarb, one of currants, two of blackberries 

 and a convenient drive-way. At first cost, for plants and labor 

 of not to succeed forty dollars, a supply of small fruits and 

 asparagus for a family of six persons, the value of which cannot 

 be measured with dollars and cents. 



REPORT OF THE EXPERIMENT STATIONS. 



BY A. C. HAMMOND, SECRETARY. 



At the January meeting of the Executive Board it was decided 

 that it was imperatively necessary for this Society to do some- 

 thing in the line of experimental work. In the face of many 

 discouragements, and without means to meet the necessary ex- 

 penses, they boldly assumed the responsibility of establishing 

 nine stations, three in each of the three horticultural divisions, 

 and determined to ask the State to grant a larger appropriation 

 to enable them to properly carry forward the work. And as you 

 all know, a bill of this kind was introduced in the Legislature 

 and persistently pushed to a favorable issue. 



The following is a list of the number, location and Directors 

 of the several stations : 



No. 1 — Princeton, Arthur Bryant, Director. 



No. 2 — Nursery, J. V. Cotta, Director. 



No. 3 — Marengo, C. W. Prescot, Director. 



No. 4 — Savoy, II. M. Dunlap, Director. 



No. 5 — Warsaw, A. C. Hammond, Director. 



No. 6 — Oilman, F. I. Mann, Director. 



No. 7 — Centralia, J. Webster, Director. 



No. 8 — Alton, J. S. Browne, Director. 



No. 9 — Odin, J. G. Vaughan, Director. (Mr. Vaughan has 

 since resigned). 



In view of the uncertainty of securing funds for the work, the 

 only step taken at this meeting, was to instruct the Secretary to 

 procure trees and cions of promising new varieties of apples 

 from Illinois, Kentucky, Arkansas and Missouri, of which he 

 could get definite and favorable information. In pursuance of 

 these instructions, about thirty varieties were collected and 

 planted or grafted at each of these stations. 



Early in May our appropriation bill had so far advanced that 

 we were confident of its final passage, the President, therefore, 

 called a meeting of the Board at Normal on the 15th, to perfect 

 the plans for prosecuting the work. 



