Miscellaneous. 381 



women who have made the exhibits. Over two years ago the Horti- 

 cultural Society appointed committees to work for rural free mail de- 

 livery, and these committees, the postmaster at Bentonville and with the 

 aid of others, have succeeded in having three routes established, and 

 many farmers now have their mail brought almost to their doors. 



The Society is again under great obligation to the Missouri State 

 Horticultural Society for their annual report. No State Horticultural 

 Report is more valuable and its proximity to our part the state makes 

 them especially useful to us. 



I. B. Lawton. 



HORTICULTURE THEN AND NOW. 



A paper read by E. L. Mason at the meeting of the Grundy County 

 Horticultural Society in Trenton last Saturday. Published at request of 

 the Society, expressed in an unanimous vote: 



Sixty years ago there were but few nurseries in the United States. 

 Besides the limited means for transporting freight long distances and 

 the high price of trees induced people who had a knowledge of grafting 

 to grow their own trees. I recollect a small nursery in my father's gar- 

 den, where trees were grown from seed and grafted when they reached 

 the proper size, to such varieties as Northern Spy, Golden Pippin, Seek- 

 no-Further, Newtown Pippin, Rambo, Spitzenburg and others — a class 

 of apples, in point of quality, seldom excelled by varieties of the present 

 day. 



In the pioneer days of Ohio, apple orchards were largely seedling 

 trees, but as the fruit was mostly of an inferior quality they were after- 

 wards grafted to better varieties. This opened the way for a class of 

 professional grafters, who, in some instances were not over scrupulous 

 about grafting an unnecessary number of scions, thereby making enor- 

 mous bills against the orchard owner. Besides they practiced deception 

 in grafting scions that were not true to name. As the country developed, 

 the demand for trees became so great that new methods were necessary, 

 and so root-grafting came into use. Instead of oiit-door grafting, apple 

 seedlings were dug and the scions cut and put in the cellar before cold 

 weather. Grafting was done from early winter into March, thus giving 

 ample time for vast quantities of grafts to be made. When the warm 

 weather of spring came the grafts were planted in the nurseries, and, in 

 +he course of two or three years, the trees were large enough to be trans- 



