GENERAL HISTORY. 37 



Efforts were at once commenced looking to the accomplishment of such 

 result. 



An address was read by J. Bougham, of the Chicago Rural Messenger, 

 on *' Marketing Fruits." 



A proposed amendment of the constitution raising the fee for annual mem- 

 bership from SI to $2 was lost. 



The committee on synonyms reported that Honest John, was not recog- 

 nized as legitimately belonging to any variety of peach, that Stanley's 

 Late does not appear in Downing's work on fruits, and that Barnard is 

 mentioned as a seedling of Yellow Alberge. 



The society, by resolution, adopted the revised and enlarged edition of 

 Downing's Fruits and Fruit Trees of America as its standard of nomenclature ; 

 also, it was resolved farther that no reproduction of a variety, without quali- 

 ties so distinct as to characterize a separate identity, shall be considered as 

 entitled to a separate name. 



Resolutions were also unanimously adopted to petition the State authorities 

 for the appointment of a State entomologist. 



The apple committee reported sixty-five varieties of apples upon the tables, 

 of which forty-five were contributed by H. B. Bidwell, of South Haven; 

 and the remainder by Dickinson, Scott, Suttle, Holt and others. 



On motion of T. T. Lyon a committee was appointed to revise the Society's 

 present list of fruits and to prepare a full aud extended list of each class of 

 fruits, for botli amateur and commercial purposes. 



The society resolved to put all life membership fees into a permanent fund ; 

 the principal to be placed at interest and the proceeds only to be expended. 



C. W. Grarfield, from the committee on by-laws, reported a set of by-laws 

 for the government of the society, which were adopted. 



From a letter from Mr. Charles Wagener, of Penn Yan, New York, it 

 appears that the Wagener apple originated from seed grown in Duchess 

 oounty, New York, the crop, doubtless, of 1790; that a bag of these seeds 

 was taken from Duchess county to Penn Yan, Yates county, in the spring of 

 1791, by George Wheeler, and there planted; that Abram Wagener purchased 

 the nursery thus produced, and planted trees from it, upon his own 

 premises, — the original Wagener being one of them. Fruit from the original 

 tree was exhibited at the New York State fair, for premium, about 1846 or 

 1847 ; and was named for the introducer or exhibitor. 



The winter of 187^ and 1873 proved to be of exceptional severity. At Yale 

 College, New Haven, Connecticut, continuous records show it to have been 

 the coldest in one hundred years. At the Agricultural College the lowest 

 temperature in November was — 2° on. the 30th ; in December, — 32°, on the 

 24th; in January, — 30*^, on the 29th; and in February, — IS'', on the 23d. 



Professor W. K. Kedzie states that — '^During the winter, including 

 December, 1872, January and February, 1873, the thermometer at Lansing 

 was thirty times below zero." 



"The great polar storm, or wave of cold, which caused such great destruc- 

 tion of life and financial loss, commenced December 20th, and reached its 

 highest point on the 34th. At Pembina the thermometer stood — 30°, on the 

 20th; and at Fort Carry, across the British line, — 43°." 



While, on December 24th the mercury stood at — 33° at the college it ran 

 down to — 40° on the flats of Grand river, at Ada, and to — 39° at Cascade, 

 where President Thompson, of the Pomological Society, was staying at the 



