STATE HORTICLLTURAL SOCIETY. 149 



up a collateral question of the trees in grass, and the trees that are not. 

 There was a very interesting report made to the Warsaw Horticultural 

 Society, in relation to an apple orchard, part in blue grass and part not 

 in blue grass. It was found in that case that the trees that grew in the 

 blue grass were not killed, but came through in tolerably good condition, 

 while those in cultivated ground were killed. The conclusion of the 

 committee was that the blue grass was a protection, and they quoted Mr. 

 Meehan's opinion that the earth under the blue grass sod was several 

 degrees cooler than the sod where there was no grass. Then Mr. Berg- 

 mann states that he found, at Momence and elsewhere, that trees in grass 

 were doing the best, and that in those cases the earth was several degrees 

 cooler than where the earth was bare, or under cultivation. Now, has 

 any gentleman here observed that fact — of trees in grass, and trees not in 

 grass, and whether any more were killed in one case than in the 

 other ? 



Mr. Galusha — If Mr. Hammond were here, he could explain this 

 matter. I read the notice of the meeting at Warsaw. It was stated in 

 that report, and in the discussion upon it, that the committee examined 

 the trees that were killed, by digging down, and they found, on the south 

 side of the tree, where the sun shone, the roots were dead, while on the 

 north side they were not. They attributed the death of the trees to the 

 fact that the soil was heated up and became too hot and dry during the 

 last intensely hot summer, and thus prepared the way for the death of the 

 trees during the succeeding extreme winter. In the blue grass, they also 

 dug to the roots, and found them uninjured. Admitting this is a fact, 

 yet we ought to be careful about laying so much stress on blue grass, 

 because such a summer, succeeded by such a winter, might never occur 

 again ; and to put our orchards in grass, and get stunted trees, would be 

 very bad policy, in my opinion. 



Mr. Childs — I have some trees in my orchard that were surrounded 

 with blue grass, and were not injured at all apparently. There are some 

 that were plowed around that presented more indications of injury. This 

 year I broke up some of the ground in order to destroy thistles, and the 

 trees seemed to make very fair growth, for the season. Those that 

 were in blue grass also made fair growth. I do not know whether the 

 blue grass had any thing to do with the jjrcserving of the trees or not, but 

 these are the facts. 



Mr. Minkler — The whole substance of the matter is summed up in 

 this — the excessive drought, and the dryness of the soil, after a heavy crop of 



