Summer Meeting. 29 



"^ 



which he sells his hard-earned fruits, has failed in the highest purpose 

 of life. The richest and most practical horticulturist is he who, not only 

 intelligently and successfully cultivates his own gardens and orchards, 

 and enjoys the comforts and pleasures of his well-earned prosperity, but 

 who unselfishly takes pleasure in his neighbor's prosperity, and through 

 the broad scope of his intellectual and spiritual virion sees the marvelous 

 forces and lazi'S of the Infinite, as they are shown forth in the countless 

 forms of animals and plants, whether found in his garden or- orchard, 

 as friends or enemies, or found in the remotest lands or seas. 



Secy. Goodman asks for information in regard to blight, and whether 

 pear blight and twig blight are the same. 



Prof. Seawell. — Blight is a bacterial disease, and the same blight 

 affects apples, pears, hawthorns and other members of the Rose family. 

 If it be allowed to live near by the orchard in hawthorn trees, it is likely 

 to spread to orchard soon afterwards. 



Secy. Goodman. — There seems to be one class that runs way down 

 in the branches and we were led to suppose twig blight was different. 



Prof. Seawell. — They are caused by the same bacteria. Sometimes 

 goes down the trunk. It may be checked by a change in conditions. If 

 the wet, warm season passes away, it may be stopped. Bacteria does not 

 live in the inner bark. It survives the whole year in the tree in what 

 is called the resting spore in its life history. The bacteria was discovered 

 in 1879 and researches were made between 1890 and 1895, 



A PLEA FOR HARDY PLANTS. 

 (Mrs. G. E. Dugan, Sedalia, Mo,) 



Have you ever tried to imagine what a desolate and gloomy place 

 this world would be without flowers? 



I have sometimes found myself thinking that if women and girls 

 waged such a relentless warfare against the flowers, as is persisted in 

 by many thoughtless men and foolish boys against the birds, we should 

 either cease to exist because of the devastations made by insect life, or 

 else become ruthless barbarians. 



Few persons, comparatively, ever estimate the refining influences of 



' flowers. They come to us with their message of love, and their wealth 



of beauty, so simply, so unostentatiously that we do not fully appreciate 



