THE DECEMBER MEETING. 335 



insure the safety of fruit. Frequent freezings and thawings often produced 

 fatal results in fruit and other crops. The " Maiden's Blush " and other deli- 

 cate varieties of apples withstood the severity of last winter in this section 

 better than many of the more hardy varieties. Many of the trees injured are 

 still alive and give good evidence of fall recovery, and thinks that the extreme 

 dryness of last summer caused as much injury to the late fruit crop as the 

 severity of the weather last winter. 



Mr. Stearns, of Kalamazoo, said (alluding to Mr. Parmelee's remarks regard- 

 ing the apparent injury to his almond trees) that if such signs were evidence 

 of a good crop, he felt sure that they might calculate on a good crop next year 

 in his section, as many trees coming unaer his observation were similarly 

 affected, and thought that the extreme drowth of last summer was quite as 

 detrimental to the late fruit crop as the severity of last winter. He thinks the 

 severity of last winter will have a tendency to thin out many of the favorite 

 varieties of apples, owing to the damage sustained by the trees, though he 

 thought fruit growers ought not to become discouraged at one failure, but 

 should give those varieties killed a good trial. 



Adjourned to 7 P. M. 



EVENING SESSION. 



ADDRESS OF HOlf. A. S. DTCKMAN, PRESIDENT, AT THE ANNUAL MEETING AT 

 BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN, DECEMBER 2, 1873. 



The snow that covers with its mantle of purity the flowers asleep, the groves, 

 of their summer glory and sweet melody of birds bereft; the leafless orchard, 

 in cold conservatory, bearing the latent promise of another harvest, the sea in 

 vain lifting its warm waves against the froz?n land, the winds that wander 

 with aimless energy, — wild in their desolation, — all these define the close of the 

 pomologic year. And, as we can no longer labor in the field, it seems a proper 

 occasion to meet in consultation and review the lessons of our annual term at 

 school, — for the fruit-grower must be ever a student. 



This has been a year fruitful at least in valuable experiences. The test win- 

 ter of 1873, while blasting the hopes of some in the destruction of trees or 

 crops, will go far to determine many questions of vital practical interest to the 

 fruit-grower. 



We shall have new light upon the question of locality, situation, and exposure 

 most favorable to different varieties ot fruit. 



We shall have more definite knowledge of the hardiness of varieties. 



We shall see the importance of winter protection, and this may lead to suc- 

 cessful experiments upon this most difficult question. 



We may learn whether freezing has any influence in the development of cer- 

 tain diseases of plants. 



We can learn something of the conditions of soil and tree that will best secure 

 immunity from frosts. 



These lessons reduced to practice may, in the future, yield a rich compensa- 

 tion for losses of last winter, for, having known the worst, we can wisely pro- 

 vide against it. 



But even this unprecedented year the crop failure has not been general. la 



