46 Missouri State Horticultural Society. 



Bates County Horticultural Society, Butler — J. B. Durand, 

 President ; Henry SjDeers, Secretary ; E. P. Henry, Treasurer. 



Henry County Horticultural Society, Clinton — J. M. Pretz- 

 inger, Secretary. 



Greene County Horticultural Society, Springfield — M. J. 

 Roundtree, President ; D. S. Holman, Secretary. 



Besides these I have the promise of a half dozen counties to 

 organize this summer and I hope this will be done and the matter 

 kept before the people until we shall see fifty before the people. 



This could be done more quickly and easily if we could send a 

 man to help them in their organization, and I think it would be 

 money well spent to do so. 



OUR FRUITS. 



The past winter was one of the most severe and we expected to 

 see many trees ruined. 



But where peach have been cut back they are growing finely, 

 and the apple and pear were loaded with bloom as never before, 

 and fruit men were happy, but it did not last ; soon they began to 

 drop and now many trees are barren of fruit. 



Now it is necessary to examine into the cause of this and 

 answer some of the questions asking the reason. I believe that the 

 reason will begin with the dry weather last August, when the trees 

 suffered so much from the drouth. The leaves and fruit spurs then 

 showed that many of the trees, especially wmesap, were not in a 

 healthy condition, and some of the leaves began to turn brown and 

 die. Following this injury came the severe cold and that certainly 

 affected them, not enough to kill them entirely, but enough to 

 cause them to drop. 



This spring all those trees that we examined^ at the base of the 

 bud showed a black circle as of winter-kill were found to drop their 

 fruit. 



I would call the attention of the members of the society to 

 another matter of great benefit. The use of pyrethrum was shown 

 in my last report and now I call your minds to that of tobacco. It 

 is a cure-all for and a great friend to the horticulturist. Sprinkled 

 in solution on the trees it will kill the insects; and even the codling- 

 month will leave the aj^jjle alone where it is used. The old stems 

 put around the trees will keep the borer and the root louse' away. 

 In fact the use of tobacco has just been discovered and it is found 

 to be worth something at last. If all the tobacco could be used to 

 destroy insects and not to destroy boys, it would be a glorious day 

 for the fruit-grower. 



