302 STATE PO.MOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



L. G. Bragg & Co. entered their general nursery. They have a good variety 

 of nice soil lor various purposes. Their chief protection from winter lies in 

 greater elevation ; not from any open water or wind-breaks. 



They have a beautiful spot in preparation for ornamental grounds and test 

 orchard, near which is an excellent packing establishment. They have a very 

 large stock of fine evergreens, mountain ash, and some other ornamental stock. 

 The quantity of ornamental stock is not in very good proportion ; they are 

 lacking in some common kinds, and in good sized trees of many varieties. 

 They keep a general variety of trees of the large fruits, though they lack a 

 good assortment of salable cherries and pears. This will soon be remedied if 

 we judge from the young trees coming on. They have a good market, and 

 nice tools to economize in labor. They claim to have discovered that buds 

 from year-old peach trees are best for budding stock ; that five times as many 

 buds grow as when taken from bearing trees. They have experimented largely 

 on dibbles, and have decided that the best are steel-pointed, being If inches in 

 diameter at the large end, eight inches long, besides having a light handle like 

 a shovel. They also have a nice cultivator of their own invention, consisting 

 of a very small plow, a rolling coulter and back, to the left of this a single 

 small shovel plow, all supported on one frame. This enables the workman to 

 run close to the row. They use and like the new Deltoid hoe. 



N. P. Husted, of Lowell, shows his general nursery, situated on high land 

 where two ridges cross, 250 feet above the river, six miles away. The atmos- 

 pheric drainage (a new term) seems good, and keeps off the frost. They have 

 a fine soil and an extensive establishment, and exhibit much tact and energy. 

 Here are shown also by their neighbors, quite a number of productive apple 

 orchards. The size of their nurseries and variety of plants for sale took some 

 of us much by surprise. The whole establishment is very symmetrical, not 

 lacking in any very essential element. They have a large amount and variety 

 of ornamental shrubbery and herbaceous plants, especially of weeping willows, 

 mountain ash, and horse-chestnuts. Everything was in excellent order. They 

 had all the best tools and contrivances found in any similar nurseries. We 

 cannot speak too highly of their care in fruiting samples of all the kinds of 

 fruit trees offered for sale. We hope the ornamental trees will also receive 

 similar attention. The extreme dry weather at the Lowell Nurseries injured 

 their young stock planted this year. The same should be said of the other 

 nurseries entered at Kalamazoo and Monroe. 



What can be expected of Ionia, a new interior county, so far north and so 

 far from the lakes ? Certainly she must have frozen up last winter. Mr. N. 

 E. Smith takes us away up 190 feet above the river, a little out of town, passing 

 by the frozen quince bushes and injured apple-trees, to his place, where the 

 land slopes in every direction, and is open to the winds. He shows grapes 

 overbearing with nice fruit, and some vines not touched by the frost till 

 October 6th. He exhibits apples on sound trees; thrifty peach-trees promising 

 well for next year, and quinces loaded with yellow fruit. He pointed to six 

 large sweet cherry-trees which had made a fine growth, unhurt last winter, 

 that bore a large crop of fruit. He gives good culture on good soil, and reaps 

 his reward as he goes along. He showed us the best year old Delawares we 

 ever saw. His cuttings of Delawares were also remarkably successful for this 

 year, and excelled the Concords planted near them. His Concord vineyard 

 was overbearing. It was well managed in every other respect. 



It was hard to credit liis account of the temperature last winter marked by 



