SOCIETY OF CENTRAL ILLINOIS. 271 



THURSDAY MORNING. 



Vice-President Gray called the house to order and invited 

 Rev. Mr. Kerr to invoke the Divine blessing. 



President Dennis having been called away by important busi- 

 ness, Vice-President Mann took the chair and presided during 

 the day. The chair announced that the first business would be the 

 election of officers. This occupied but a few minutes and 

 resulted as follows : 



President — F. I. Mann, Gilman. 



First Vice-President — II. L. Doan, Jacksonville. 



Second Vice-President — G. W. E. Cook, Lacon. 



Third Vice-President — Miss Lucy Gaston, Lacon. 



Secretary — A. C. Hammond, Warsaw. 



Assistant Secretary — Miss Bessie M. Nash, Warsaw. 



Treasurer — W. H. Schureman, Normal. 



The Marshall County Horticultural Society extended the So- 

 ciety a cordial invitation to hold its next annual meeting in 

 Lacon, some time in June. On motion, the invitation was 

 accepted. 



REPORT ON RASPBERRIES. 



BY LEWIS DUCHESNE, LACON. 



Mr. President and Fellow Members : 



The general crop of raspberries for the past year, both of red 

 and black, was poor, as compared with former years. 



The condition of the plants of Black Caps was, and is now, 

 very unfavorable. The plants of Red raspberries are fairly good. 



The canes of the Black Caps were severely killed back by drouth 

 and will produce a very light crop the coming season. 



Red raspberries have done much better here than the Black 

 Caps, as they have withstood drouth and severe winters. We 

 find that a plantation of Red raspberries will outlast a plantation 

 of Black Caps, and prove the most profitable for a series of years. 



I have tried applying earth from the middle rows* to the base 

 of the old plant, and found it to be of the greatest benefit. I dis- 

 covered this by accident, in the blossoming season. Having at 

 that time to straighten up a few plants, I thought to make the 

 bushes stand up, I would use earth instead of using stakes. I piled 

 up a flat mound about four inches high and two feet in diameter, 

 pressing the earth solidly amongst the base of the canes. This 

 sustained the plants in an upright position, but its greatest bene- 

 fit was, that wlien the fruit ripened, while on other plants the 



