ALTON HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 387 



Have rows for hlackbcrrii's at least ei^^ht and better ten feet 

 ajjai't. plants two feet iipart in the row: six feet by eighteen inches 

 will give sutKcient room for ras])berries. 



Respeetfnlly submitted, J. S. HKOWX. 



The Secretary stated in reply to a (juestion by Mr. Iviehl. that he 

 had not pruned any rusp])erries yet, and would not do so for some 

 time, as he thought that the hiterals of the black raspberry, being 

 naturally frtvst in the ground at this time, had a tendency to steady 

 the main cane and hinder it from being broken off by the wind: 

 the canes being ai)j)arently more brittle during extreme cold weather. 

 He also left the dead canes in tlie rows of red ras])borries for a simi- 

 lar |»urpose. 



Mr. Hiehl — Will not i)rune till buds begin to push out in spring. 



ORNAMENTAL PLANTING. 



At our hist meeting we said something about this matter, but as 

 it was not written (h>wn our Secretary did not ])ul)lish it, and he did 

 right. It was about like this: That in cities and villages where 

 soft coal is used for fuel and the streets undermined with leaky gas 

 mains, it is of no use to set evergreens. They look pretty for about 

 three or four years and then get ragged and die. Much money is 

 wasted and the ground occu])ied to no advantage. W lien the State 

 Horticultural Society met in Si)ringtield a ])arty of us walked 

 around the city, and T. being familiar with the locations, acted as 

 guide. We fou'nd many tine residences and evidences of taste in 

 horticultiii;il matters: a greater number of shade trees in tiiu'r con- 

 dition than in any city that I know of in the state — {\ doni count 

 Chicago)— but among theiu all not one respectable evergreen twenty 

 feet high. Those that managed to live looked like an American 

 Larch in winter — no rich color and no density. 



In shade trees for city or country, who will name the second to 

 the Elm? Since (nir last meeting the Massachusetts Society ami the 

 editor of the Countnj Gentleman have both discussed this same ques- 

 tion and rejected trees that we rejected, and for the same reasons. 

 Their list, and it is good for us, is about this: Norway Maple, Euro- 

 pean Linden, Sugar Maple, White Oak, Sweet Gum and Cut Leaf 

 Birch, this last only for an open space on the lawn where its peculiar, 

 airy drooping form may be seen. Tn order to show this best, train 



