SUMMER MEETING AT CHILLICOTHE. 15 



I have given directions for the most simple manner of improvement for our 

 country liomes, becau8e in my own practical work 1 have found such advice to be 

 (most generally followed, and have never yet failed when talking to a farmer in 

 convincing him of the real money value of such an investment, and have invariably 

 had him follow it. 



A word or two about forming our lawns and I am through. I have always had 

 the farmer plow up the whole yard in the fall, level and harrow well, as he would 

 for a flower-bed. Sow wheat*and then timothy — if in spring, sow oats— and then 

 blue-grass, two bushels per acre, and in the spring two bushels more per acre. I 

 do this that we may at once get a green yard, and then when the wheat is cut we 

 will still have a green surface, and that long before the blue-grass forms a sod. By 

 the second or third year the blue-grass runs out the timothy, and we get a good 

 sod by mowing only two or three times a year, which is about as much as I find 

 the farmer willing to do. 



Do not understand that this plan of forming a lawn or planting trees can be 

 applicable to our towns or cities, or even many of our larger farmers, but it is the 

 only practical way o( improvement of our country homes, and we may be sure if 

 thus once started, the love for it will grow and grow until it has found something 

 better. 



Every one who visited San Eafael will remember with delight the long wind- 

 ing road up to the top of the hill where we got the view of the ocean and bay, and 

 there on the top what a delightful view lay before us in the valley, and how judi- 

 ciously the planting had been done in clumps and clusters all over the whole hill. 

 Hon. W. T. Coleman planted better than he knew when that was done, and the 

 375,000 trees which he planted have been so beautifully arranged in clusters and 

 groups that they add an hundred-fold to the beauty of that beautiful landscape 

 which lay before us on that beautiful morning. I called on those near me at the 

 time to be careful to notice the beauty of the planting while they were admiring 

 other things. Well, this was just the object-lesson 1 wanted to give, and the one 

 I wanted to illustrate in my paper. 



Planting of Forest Park at St. Louis, you can better appreciate if you have 

 ever driven over it as I have done with the man who so beautifully laid out those 

 grounds. L. A. Goodman, VVestport, Mo. 



After another selection of music, the Society took a recess until 

 9 a. m. 



Wednesday, June 8 — 9 a. m. 



Society called to order by the President. The following commit- 

 tees were announced : 



On Fruits— N. F. Murray, Z. T. Russell and Powell Jackson. 

 On Flowers — Prof. J. C. DulFey, Mrs. A. Nelson and Mrs. L. A. Goodman. 

 On Finance— S. W. Gilbert, E. L. Pollard and D. A. Robinett. 

 On obitury- C. Hartzell, J. N. Menifee and \V^. W. Knoop. 

 Final Resolutions — L. Chubbuck, C. W. Gregg and A. L. Zimmerman. 

 The following paper on "pruning" is by Wm. Saunders, horticulturalist and 

 and gardener, United States degartment of agriculture: 



