REPORTS OF DISTRICT AND LOCAL SOCIETIES. 523 



The September meeting was held on the first Tuesday of the month, at 

 W. K. Munson's. Vice-President Pearce called the meeting to order, 

 and, after the regular order of business was transacted, called attention to 

 the work done by the fruitgrowers' association. The amount of peaches 

 daily put upon the market was wonderful, being from 4,000 to 6,000 bush- 

 els, all going daily at a good price. Grand Rapids was truly the center of 

 the fruit belt, and needed a regular market place worse than did any other 

 place on the globe. 



The peach yellows law was read. The present year had seen quite a 

 spread of yellows. The greatest care should be taken, and infected fruit, 

 it was thought, might be the means of contaminating other trees. The 

 infected samples on exhibition were buried, and strong resolutions were 

 made to crush out the disease. 



After the usual luncheon and social half-hour, the party visited the vine- 

 yard. About ten acres of as healthy vines and as clean land as any one 

 could wish to see- — not a weed to spoil the effect, not a branch untied. All 

 was in " apple pie order,' 1 with no signs of the long drought; but from 

 forty to fifty tons of extra fine grapes were in sight. Mr. Munson prac- 

 tices the Knitf en system of pruning. A prominent feature of his plan was a 

 cold-storage house without ice. A long pipe from a shady north valley 

 brought in the cold air. and a high chimney in the center completed the 

 circulation. 



" Grapes and grape products " occupied the attention for the remainder 

 of the session. 



October 27, 1891, will be long remembered by the horticulturists 

 around the city who dared drive the whole distance, thirteen miles, against 

 a high, freezing, northwest wind, to the pretty village of Sparta. The 

 arrivals from the south were the bluest-looking specimens of humanity 

 imaginable. They reduced the temperature of the room so much that the 

 janitor had to hustle. A group of ten of these half -frozen people huddled 

 around the stove, but it was some hours before the last shiver had ceased 

 to torment them. 



About noon, President Garfield called the meeting order. He had 

 recently returned from Washington, and he so much delighted his hearers 

 with an account of his trip that a resolution was afterward offered by Vice 

 President Pearce, and passed, to have the president's notes hereafter 

 made after dinner, when there were always more to hear. 



The fruit exhibit, although not large, contained some fine specimens. 

 A. Boss of Jamestown brought Smock peaches of immense size. F. C. 

 Jacobs showed five varieties of apple, Hubbardston, Wagener, Dickenson, 

 Rome Beauty, and Grimes' Golden. 



In the afternoon, the topic, "Culture of apples and pears," brought out 

 much valuable advice. After talking on this subject for nearly two hours, 

 during which time the Ben Davis received a black eye, the following five 

 varieties were recommended as the best apples : Northern Spy, Red Can- 

 ada, Jonathan, Wagener, and Baldwin. 



The second topic, "Lessons in marketing," was also of much interest, 

 and the conclusion arrived at that Grand Rapids was a satisfactory mar- 

 ket. It did not seem to make any difference how much was offered, there 

 was always a chance to dispose of the fruit at paying prices. 



The November meeting was held in Harmony Grange hall. It is not a 

 very inviting building in outward appearance, but one of the heartiest of 

 welcomes was given the occupants of the thirty-odd carriages that 



