STATE nORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 117 



of the leaves dropped, and the grapes did not mature on such vines. On the contrary, 

 they commenced wilting after attaining about the usual size, but kept on coloring, and 

 when fully colored were quite sour, and seemed entirely destitute of grape sugar. I 

 noticed no diseased leaves on the Concord, which, with the Clintons that escaped the 

 disease, ripened about as usual, and so also did a few Catawbas that I noticed. 



"The wonder is that there was any fruit after the severe freezing weather in April. 

 The blossom stems of the pears had attained their full length, and some of them were 

 jiarticularly noticed, especially such as showed fruit. On the morning of the 17th of 

 .A.pril they were frozen too hard to bend the stem. On the 19th I examined some on 

 the trees with a good glass, after the sun had shown out warm for several hours, and 

 they appeared to be perfectly sound and healthy. The freezing was during the light of 

 the moon ; and having heard some German farmers say that fruit was not killed by frost 

 during the light of the moon, I determined U> notice the result, as it was more than a 

 mere frost, and I thought would test the theory so severely that if the fruit was not all 

 killed there might be somelliing in it. The rt-sult was as stated in this section of the 

 county.'" 



Mr. G. WiLGUS, of Richview, sends the following respecting 



WASHINGTON COUNTY : 



•'In regard to the condition and progress of horticulture in Washington county, for 

 1875, I have to remark that the season has been an exceptional one in many particulars. 

 The severe cold of the past winter and early spring was followed at mid-summer by 

 heavy, long-continued and damaging rains. These in turn were succeeded during the 

 autumn months by a protracted drought. Against such a combination of untoward con- 

 ditions the horticulturist has been able to make but little progress. Our early fruits 

 and vegetables were more or less "behind time;' our mid-summer culture was fre- 

 quently interrupted and sometimes indefinitely postponed, while late maturing products 

 were greviously cut short l)y the protracted droughts. On the whole the season has not 

 been a prosperous or satisfactory one. Fruits and vegetables have been produced only 

 in limited quantities, and of a c[uality in general rather inferior as compared with former 

 years. On the other hand, the ravages of insect enemies seem to have been somewhat 

 less than usual. Whether this is owning to the heavy rain-fall preventing their hatching, 

 as in diyer or warmer seasons, to a less inviting ' bill of fare' because of meagre crops, 

 or some other reason to your correspondent unknown, the ' bug crop ' has been rela- 

 tively a light one. Nevertheless there are plenty of them left, and the horticulturist 

 who neglects to search at the proper season for the peach and apple borers, for caterpil- 

 lars, moths, etc., will find he has neglected an important part of his duty." 



The Knodle Brothers, of Irving, send the following notes of 

 horticulture in 



MONTGOMERY COUNTY : 



" The prospects of horticulture in our section are flattering, notwithstanding the 

 difficulties of adverse seasons. 



" The Apple crop this year is barely one-fourth of a full one. Rawle's Janet, 

 Maiden's Blush, Green Pippin, and Ben Davis, bore some — say fairly well ; Winesap 

 was a failure. Trees have not suffered much from the effects of the last winter. 



" Peaches. — There were a few, and the trees are in good condition. 



" Cherries. — There was a good crop of common Black Morellos. Other kinds 

 were scarce. Trees were badly killed out by the wet summer, and the buds killed 

 during the winter. 



''Plums. — Wild Goose bore well. Curculio desloyed two-thirds of the fruit which 

 set, but enough wa.s left for a fair crop. 



