No. 7. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 543 



PROF. SURFACE. — According to our law any bird or animal may 

 be killed by the owner of the farm or premises, when found destroy- 

 ing fruit or other property. Birds in the act of destroying fruit 

 on trees or berry fields may be shot by the owner of the premises, 

 just as deer may be killed when destroying field crops. If properly 

 provided for the robin will not destroy berries or choice fruit. If 

 they have access to mulberries they will eat them to the exclusion 

 of other berries. I know several persons who have taken this course 

 with satisfactory results. 



DR. MAYER. — I have had considerable experience with the robin, 

 and like my friend from New Jersey, was his friend for years. As 

 a fruit grower, I consider him a nuisance. Have found that planting 

 mulberries to keep him away from other fruit is a humbug. 



MR. BLACK. — I do not like to disagree with a Professor. All 

 through life I have been a friend of birds, but my experience is not 

 the same as Mr. Powell's, the party referred to by Prof. Surface, my 

 experience is that the robin will not eat mulberries or small fruit 

 when larger can be had. New Jersey robins never eat small cher- 

 ries when they can get Black Tartarians. ' 



MR. SNAVELY. — I fully agree with my friend from New Jersey. 

 On my premises robins always prefer the best . 



PROF. SURFACE.— On State College campus we have robins by 

 the hundred, just across the way is my strawberry patch, and I have 

 never lost any berries by robins, when able to get other fruit. 



The following was offered by Mr. Peters and adopted. 



Resolved, That the State Horticultural Association of Pennsyl- 

 vania in annual convention assembled, recommends to the State 

 Legislature, now in session, that all lauds adjacent to any nursery in 

 the State shall be inspected for a distance of one mile surrounding 

 such nursery, and furthermore. 



Resolved, That any and all nursery stock shipped, subject to San 

 Jos^ Scale, shall be thoroughly fumigated with hydrocyanic acid 

 gas before it is shipped. 



The following was offered by Mr. Moon, and unanimously adopted: 



"This Committee reports that the State Horticultural Association 

 is again called upon to record the loss of members by death. 



We have been informed of the death of two of our members, viz: 

 Daniel Smeych, of Lancaster, Pa., which occurred April 5, 1904, at 

 the advanced age of 7G years. He was one of Lancaster's well- 

 known citizens who for many years was an attendant at our annual 

 meetings, especially when held in his home city. He was an occas- 

 sional exhibitor of his choice fruits, and although but seldom tak- 

 ing part in the discussions, he was an interested listener, and a 

 loyal member of this Association. 



The death of Joseph W. Thomas, of King of Prussia, Montgomery 

 county, removes from our midst one of our oldest and most useful 

 members. We believe he was one of the organizers of this Asso- 

 ciation. He was one of our most active and practical members. Of 

 a kind and genial temperament, he had a warm welcome for all at 

 our annual assemblies. He was one of the leading nurserymen of 



