98 STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



readily dry them for winter use, and an experiment of this kind enables 

 me to say that it is a successful way of preserving them for eating. 



I believe that one cannot do eVen a season's work along this line 

 without realizing that we have a fungus flora of very rich and varied 

 character, waiting for development by careful field work. 



THE BOTANIC GARDEN. 



This has been well maintained and in some respects considerably im- 

 proved. On June 30, 1S95, the garden contained 1,335 species and va- 

 rieties of plants; on June 30, 1897, there were 1,840. The weedy portion 

 of plants has gradually been left to the weed garden, and eliminated 

 from the other portions of the garden, where the plants are arranged 

 by families. Some of the plants inferior in appearance have been 

 abandoned and other species of more importance added. 



THE ARBORETUM. 



"Notes Concerning a Few Trees in the Arboretum at the Agricultural 

 College," was the title of a paper which I read in August at a meet- 

 ing of the Society for the Promotion of Agricultural Science, held in 

 Boston. 



In 1875, I began planting a small arboretum of about two acres with 

 about 150 species of trees and shrubs. The soil is mostly well drained 

 by nature — a rather thin, sandy loam. In giving results, due allowance 

 must be made for the fact that many of the trees are not suited to the soil, 

 and consequently do not make a favorable showing. This is especially 

 true of swamp white oak, black walnut, butternut, basswood, white ash, 

 catalpa, black ash, hickory, American elm, and others I shall not name. 



When the trees were four to six vears old, some measurements were 

 made and recorded. At that time I was not well pleased with the prog 

 ress of the chesnuts, but the success of black walnut, Catalpa speciosa, 

 red elm and butternut seemed assured. 



Again, after eleven years, my impressions were recorded, and here arc 

 a few of them: Butternut does not hold out its rapid growth as well as 

 it promised for a few years at first. White ash was checked for two years 

 by bark lice. The locust trees are few in number, but very fine and 

 healthy. The catalpas are damaged by cold. I will now say^ however, 

 that this tree does very well at Ann Arbor, where it grows an clay soil. 

 My report says chestnuts are not all healthy, and are very uneven in size. 

 European larches started off promising well for some time. 



Again, after a growth of twenty-three summers, I give you a few notes 

 concerning a few important rrees: 



