20 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Whitney objected, saying this was outside of our programme, and would 

 accomplish no good. 



Tlie'objection was overruled and the vote taken amid a good deal of demon- 

 strative amusement, and resulted in fifteen votes for change of name, and 

 ei.frht votes for retaining the present name. 



Tlie Secretary read an invitation signed by gentlemen of Muskegon, invit- 

 ing the society to hold its June meeting in their cit3\ Referred to the execu- 

 tive committee. 



The Secretary said tliere were a number of gentlemen present who desired to 

 discuss a subject that had already occupied the attention of the society to quite 

 a large extent, namely, 



THE PEACH TREE YELLOWS. 



Judge Lawton, as chairman of a committee appointed at Paw Paw to draw 

 up a bill for presentation to the Legislature, read the bill this committee had 

 prepared, and said that the bill was now in the hands of the judiciary commit- 

 tee of the House of Representatives, and that this committee would like to 

 meet a conference committee from our society to discuss the provisions of the 

 bill. But before taking any action in this matter he hoped the various pro- 

 visions of the bill would be carefully considered by the society. 



A number of points were discussed by Messrs. Lyon, Sherwood, Bitely, Beal, 

 and Thompson, without bringing out any new facts. All the gentlemen 

 named, except Mr. Sherwood, favored the strict provisions of the bill, and. 

 considered the enactment of it as a law a most essential matter with Michi!]^an 

 peach-growers. 



Mr. Sherwood argued that there would be great injustice in such a law, be- 

 cause under its provisions a man's orchard just loaded with ripening peaches 

 might be condemned and destroyed when it was the only income he had, and 

 his crop of fruit thus taken from him might, if sold, bring him in a handsome 

 income. 



Mr. J. P. Thompson by request, then read the following communication 

 from C. D. Lawton, originally prepared in answer to some statements made 

 by a correspondent of the Detroit Post and Tribune : 



MR. lawton' s orixiON. 



It must be conceded, as one of the facts regarding this destructive disease 

 that has become settled beyond controversy, that it is eminently contagious ; 

 this fact was determined 50 years ago, and so recorded, and all subsequent ob- 

 servation and experience have uniformly and everywhere verified it. Xo one 

 fully acquainted with the disease has ever disputed it, or in any degree called 

 the matter in question ; in truth, it is one of the first facts that becomes ap- 

 parent whenever the disease appears — let it once obtain a foothold and the or- 

 chard is doomed ; so is the neighborhood, so far as peaches are concerned. 



That the yellows when left to itself spreads from tree to tree, from orchard 

 to orchard, is as certain as anything which experience can determine ; it has 

 always done so in the past, and we may surely infer a similar result in 

 the future, unless we relentlessly practice the as yet only known remed}', of 

 speedily removing the diseased trees. Unfortunately there are many persons 

 of the opinion expressed by your correspondent, better let the trees go and 

 take their chances. They adopted this course in the vicinity of St. Joseph and 

 Benton Harbor, and as a result what was but a few vears asro one of the most 



