26o State Horticultural Society. 



REPORTS OF DELEGATES TO STATE MEETINGS. 



ILLINOIS STATE MEETING. 



(Delegate— H. O. Irish, Secretary National Oouncil of Horticulture, St. Louis, Mo.) 



The 50th annual meeting of the Ilhnois State Horticultural Society 

 was held at Champaign, December 12-15, '^9^S- It being the semi- 

 centennial meeting, a part of the program consisted in giving a short 

 biography of thirty or forty of the men who were most prominent in 

 the early history of that organization, and some comments on the work 

 of each were given by Doctor Burrill, Arthur Bryant, Jonathan Periam, 

 E. A. Riehl, Senator Dunlap and others. During the addresses the like- 

 ness of many of these former members was thrown upon the screen. 



In a paper by Professor J. C. Blair of the University of Illinois on 

 the "Apple Crop of 1905," the importance of spraying was made evident. 

 An examination of a large number of orchards throughout the state 

 showed that in nearly all cases where spraying had not been practiced 

 practically either no fruit was produced, or only a small and inferior 

 crop. In other orchards, where spraying had been practiced for three 

 or more years, the prospect for a crop early in the season was never bet- 

 ter, but on account of the low temperature later in the season and late 

 attack of apple scab, the per cent of a crop for the state was greatly 

 reduced. 



In the annual address of the President a recommendation was made 

 for the adoption of a score card, similar to the one used by the Mas- 

 sachusetts State Board of Agriculture, for the judging of the fruit ex- 

 hibits at the meetings of the Society. Later in the session the recom- 

 mendation was adopted by unanimous vote. Upon recommendation of 

 the Secretary, a more systematic effort was undertaken through proper 

 authorized committees for preserving horticultural records and biog- 

 raphies and the photographs of the older members. 



Mr. L. G. Hubbard of Urbana gave a paper on the subject of "Cane 

 Fruits," tracing the development of that industry from a small begin- 

 ning, about fifty years ago, to its vastness at the present time. Black- 

 berry and raspberry plants should be dug in the fall, the roots puddled 

 and the plants stored in a pit during the winter and set out in the spring 



