166 STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



nor generally in my vicinity. I practice pinching back bearing canes to the 

 second or third leaf from the fruit. 



B. Gebhardt, Mears, Oceana county: Plums and pears were fair and 

 brought good prices; early peaches the same, but later ones did not do as 

 well ; plums were not a large crop, through better than the year before, and 

 brought good prices; grapes were almost a failure. Our area of peach trees 

 about equals that of plums now, but we are setting four peaches to one plum. 

 As many fruit trees will be set next spring as the whole setting of four or 

 five preceding years. Some large faruis will be wholly set to fruit. Our 

 peaches sold at 90 cents to ^1 per bushel, plums $2 to $3 net. We sell our 

 plums in Milwaukee and Chicago, sending by boat from Ludington. They 

 are a sure crop, though some varieties are not full each year unless thinned 

 and fertilized. 



A. C. Glidden, Paw Paw : I have but little to report, for not much fruit is 

 grown in my locality. The strawberry crop was cut short by the previous 

 year's drouth. Apples were hurt when small by a hot wind which blasted the 

 leaves, causing mauy to afterward turn yellow and fall ; and were further 

 harmed by drouth. The same wind damaged other trees and oats as well. 

 I sprayed my apple trees twice, and, whether by that cause or some mere co- 

 incidence, I had better apples than my neighbors. 



A. Bartholomew, of Keelersville, Van Buren county, reported the same as 

 Mr. Glidden, as to strawberries, cherries and apples ; and agreed with him as to- 

 occurrence of a hot wind and its effects. 



Wednesday' Morning Session. 



The Wednesday morning session was opened with prayer by the Rev. Duns- 

 more of Fennville — a proceeding quite unusual to meetings of fruit growers. 

 But the prayer could not have been considered greatly out of place by even the 

 most skeptical, for it was quite as much to the point, in a horticultural sense, 

 as a good deal of the other talk of such occasions. 



President Phillij)S announced the following committees: 



Resolutions — A. C. Glidden, R. Morrill, Benton Gebhardt. 



Fruit — Alexander Hamilton, Geo. S. Chubb, J. W. Humphrey. 



MisceUa7ieous Business — Wni. Corner, William B. Andruss,D. W, Hinman. 



To the latter committee was referred President Phillips' message. 



Mr. A. 0. Glidden of Paw Paw began the practical work of the session by 

 reading the following paper on 



THE ROOTS OF TREES AND PLANTS. 



It is not my purpose on this occasion to give a scientific treatise on the 

 roots of plants, even if I had the ability and qualifications necessary for it; 

 but simply to start in your minds some inquiries — possibly by some suggestions 

 of my own — that shall lead you to study the requirements of the tree or plant 

 which comes through the agency and medium of the roots. We know so lit- 

 tle of what is going on beneath an inch or two of sod, that it is not surpris- 

 ing if we at times work an injury to the tree or plant, through our misapplied 



