STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 97 



Oldenburg. As soon as our stock of any variety will warrant trees 

 in small lots are sent out to all parts of the prairie States for trial. 



Dr. Sehru;?der — Did you see any birds in Russia? 



Prof. Budd — This brings up the forestry question. Over forty 

 per cent, of the great plains of Northern Europe are covered with 

 forest. The usual plan is to establish great tracts of timber of 

 twenty or thirty thousand acres in extent. In these groves, as well 

 as in the orchards, birds are very abundant and astonishingly like 

 ours. 



Question — What are the bird laws there? 



Prof. Budd — T did not learn of any laws protecting birds. 

 They have very few insects that prey upon fruits. Great interest is 

 manifested in foresting in that country. The arid plains are first 

 covered with willows, salix acidifoJia, and others, to fix the drifting 

 sand. When the sand is sufficiently shaded by the willows the Riga 

 pine and other valualjle timl)er trees are successfully started. Tn the 

 Province of Tula some old forests have been cleared, and trees of 

 new growth, large enough for saw-logs, may be found. Their form 

 of larch, larix siben'ra, will doubtless prove valuable in this country. 

 It Avill thrive in a climate too hot and dry for the common European 

 larch. It is a decidedly upright aiid rapid grower, and its timber is 

 fully as valuable as the common species. At Voronesh and Orel we 

 first found the mulberry, whith has been so much lauded with us 

 under the name of Russian. The question addressed to the foresters, 

 was the mulberry grown as a timber tree? caused considerable mer- 

 riment. It is used in Russia as it will be here, as a small si/ed 

 ornamental tree, of some value as a fruit-producer, often killing 

 to the ground but coming again from the roots, and readily grown 

 from cuttings. The Mennonites in Nebraska brought a mulberry 

 with them from Russia, but it is quite different from the one I have 

 described, and did not prove hardy on the college grounds. We have 

 introduced the best fruiting form found at Orel, Russia, and think it 

 worthy of trial. If planted in considerable quantities it will help to 

 protect our fruits from birds, as they seem to prefer its berries to our 

 more choice fruits. It is also valuable to the silk-grower. 



J. M. Pearson — Did you find in Russia an apple you can recom- 

 mend for Central and Southern Illinois? We have got the hottest 



