426 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Following Mr. Lyon, Mr. L. D. Watkius of Manchester read the following 

 notes on 



WHAT CAN LEGISLATION DO FOR MICHIGAN HORTICULTURE ? 



The aim of legislation for horticulture should be: 



First, To aid the millions of busy men and women of moderate incomes 

 who know little of the art of landscape decoration and tree planting, but 

 who desire to surround their homes with the greatest amount of beauty pos- 

 sible that their means will allow, and at the same time to grow fruit for 

 constant family supply at the least possible outlay of money. 



Second, To establish stations where the difiicult problems that constantly 

 surround the expert horticulturist can be solved by combined science and 

 practical information, by bulletins and otherwise, that shall protect from error 

 and imposition as far as possible those who wish to plant trees. 



Third, To give us a fruit warden, who shall be a traveling supervisor over 

 all the combined interests of horticulture. Can the State afford this? Let 

 us see what the nations of Europe are doing. Take the six largest, and we 

 find employed in the forests alone over five thousand overseers, each of whom 

 can give the local and botanical names of every tree, shrub or plant, its class 

 and use; name all the enemies known to injure tree or plant, whether they 

 be insects, birds or animals. Europe is justly proud of her botanical gar- 

 dens, and they are no longer experiments, but considered as landmarks in the 

 horizon of science. 



I should be safe in saying that the codling moth alone damaged the apple 

 crop last year enough in each of the counties of Washtenaw, Jackson and 

 Hillsdale to pay for all that I have suggested in this paper. The apple orchards 

 about Manchester are doomed. Many that produced hundreds of barrels for 

 sale are now entirely destroyed. The loss in money is not the greatest. Take 

 from the country the bloom and fruit of our orchards and you have severed 

 one of the strong links that binds a people to the country. Not for one 

 moment let us entertain the thought that horticulture means only the 

 immediate surroundings of our homes. Its jurisdiction is the utmost limits 

 of the earth. In dreary Iceland, in almost every home you find in the shells 

 of volcanic bombs growing some Alpine flower. Our heritage is great, its 

 influence on ourselves and children is beyond estimate, and is transmitted to 

 our children. A child reared amid rustling songs of trees, the beauty and 

 fragrance of flowers and fruits seldom or ever goes astray. We can afford to 

 legislate in the interest of that which means so much to the homes of our 

 country. 



SUGGESTIONS CONCERNING LOCAL SOCIETIES. 



Secretary Garfield gave a resume of tlie work accomplishing through local 

 societies in ^licljiganand took occasion to commend the social nature of several 

 of them. He advocated out-of-door meetings and especially the making of 

 exhibits at each session. 



The following note upon this subject was read from Matthew Crawford, of 

 Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio: 



Mr. C. W. QkiiVim.T)— Dear Sir : I almost envy the fortunate individuals 

 who are on the way to your winter meeting. Even at this late hour I jot 

 down my views briefly on " Local Societies:" 



