98 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



varieties propagated by root cuttings, when you have found your ideal 

 of fruit and bush, mark it and at the proper season take up the roots, care- 

 fully cutting in proper lengths; put them through a perfect callousing 

 process, and plant in nursery rows; never use suckers. They are often 

 sent up as the result of dis'ease or injury. If the variety be propagated 

 by tips, be specially careful that nothing goes into the ground save those 

 that are perfect in all respects. Thus we are able to augment the good 

 qualities by securing all variations in the desired directions and discard 

 defects every year as they appear, until we have the highest perfection. 

 I have succeeded by this method in making very marked changes in foli- 

 age and firmness as well as color and greatly increased productiveness. 

 Much patience and long experience will be required, but the compensa- 

 tion in the end will be ample. By pursuing this course we shall to a 

 very great degree solve the problem of disease. Weak and sickly plants 

 are always the first to succumb to attacks of vermin and fungi. We are 

 thus able to produce such a healthy growth that vermin are powerless to 

 injure. If we add to this the burning over of strawberry beds every year, 

 or plowing under after one picking, the pests which ruin so many planta- 

 tions will disappear. Cultivate thoroughly, fertilize thoroughly, study the 

 business thoroughly, and you will be thoroughly successful. 



THOUGHTS THE PAPER CALLED FORTH. 



Mr. L. B. Bice spoke severely against the practice of nurserymen who 

 takes scions from nursery rows. He believed scions taken from the best 

 of bearing trees are much more desirable, especially in the way of securing 

 improvement of varieties. 



Mr. W. F. Bird referred to the importance of turning over new varieties 

 to the experiment stations for testing and report. We should have a 

 half dozen sub-stations in the state for this purpose. 



Mr. Rice: Mr. Willard has well spoken of the Lombard plum as a 

 fine grower; it is such, and I keep a row of Lombard trees for use in 

 testing new plums by grafting. 



Mr. J. F. Taylor: On our lake shore more thought and work and worry 

 have been given to the peach than all other fruits combined, until lately. 

 Those who propagate the trees have given special attention to selection of 

 improved strains and varieties. The propagator goes back to original 

 stocks of such for his buds, and the result is that varieties there are supe- 

 rior to the same kinds elsewhere. But old trees have so many blossom 

 buds that we can get but few leaf buds for grafting without severe cutting 

 of the trees. We could not, therefore, afford to bud all the young trees 

 from old ones, and so in the second year we get buds from stocks 

 from these originals, the nurserymen exchange buds and so keep up 

 a uniformity. 



Mr. Kellogg: If I select heavy bearing sorts of strawberry, I avoid a 

 great deal of work that would otherwise result from runners. 



