STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 31 



pest. They .said that they were not bothered with the curculio, 

 but specimens I saw were clearly so affected. They claim to 

 have 60,000 peach trees in one orchard in Howell county. 



REPORT OF DELEGATE TO STATE HORTICULTURAL 



SOCIETY, INDIANA. 



BY F. I. MANN, GIL MAN. 



This meeting was held in the elegant Horticultural rooms of 

 the new capital building, at Indianapolis, where I arrived long 

 enough before the first session to take a view of the fruit on 

 exhibition, and become acquainted with Secretary Hobbs. While 

 not so large a display as is usually made at our own meetings, or 

 as frequently made at the Indiana meeting, the principal kinds 

 were represented by some very fine plates. Some plates of apples 

 from the banks of the Ohio river excelled any apples I had ever 

 seen. A display of California fruits, sent the Society by its 

 President attracted much attention. In this list was the sweet 

 orange, navel orange, lemons, citron, dates, olives, and Japan 

 persimmon. 



We found the Society under a little temporary embarrassment 

 from the absence of its President, Dr. Furnas, who has, during 

 the past year, moved to California, but the members soon warmed 

 up to the subject under discussion, and made the general discus- 

 sion the feature of the meeting, which it seems was anticipated 

 by the secretary from the small number of papers read at each 

 session. 



Mr. Ragan, who is well known in our Society, made a report on 

 the Agricultural College of Purdue, in which he grieved over the 

 small number of students taking horticultural courses. Prof. 

 Troop, of the Experiment Station, made a report on the experi- 

 mental testing of varieties, and his list of valuable trees for plant- 

 ing was very long. 



Prof. Stockbridge, Director of Experiment Station, LaFayette, 

 gave a paper on the changes in Quality and Composition of Fruits 

 Through Applications to the Soil. After discussing the various 

 chemical combinations and changes of plant life and fruit develop- 

 ment, he gave the effects of the application of potash to the soil. 

 His results showed that this application lessened the proportion 

 between free acid and the sugar in fruit and hence improved the 

 quality. Prof. Stockbridge also gave a report of the results of 

 girdling grape vines on the appearance and quality of the fruit, 

 and he thought girdling would prove of great benefit. The dis- 

 cussion following pretty well developed the fact that girdling 

 would destroy the vine. 



