50 • STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



I am heartily in favor of raising this fee of one dollar and I shall cer- 

 tainly attend the Society just the same. The farmer or fruit grower who 

 will not be willing to pay out a dollar for the benefit that the Society 

 can be to him, is to be pitied. It is my opinion that we are all the bet- 

 ter for the Society. 



Mr. Fitch — I am of the same opinion as Mr. Cook. It makes me feel 

 rather small when the members of this State Association are willing 

 to pay fl.OO to be a member here and I am a member of an auxiliary 

 Association and entitled to all the privileges, getting the reports and the 

 papers that are published. I am not only in, favor of raising the price of 

 the membership of the State Association, but if it is necessary, to 

 serve a year's notice that a motion will be made to advance the price 

 of membership in the auxiliary society to |1.00. 



Mr. Bassett — You can give notice of that advance if you care to. 



Mr. Smythe — I am in favor of raising the price to |0.75 but not to 

 11.00. 



The Chairman — All that are in favor of Mr. Hale's motion of raising 

 the membership of the State Society from $0.50 to .fl.OO will signify it 

 by raising the hand. Contrary the same sign. The ayes have it. 



Mr. Welch — One year from today I will make a motion raising the 

 life membership from $5.00 to |10.00 and increase the dues of auxiliary 

 societies from 25 cents to 50 cents. 



APPLE CULTURE. 



(W. W. FARNSWORTH^ WATERVILLE^ OHIO.) 



When I received a program from your secretary, and saw there were 

 two good numbers on a kindred topic, I felt like the old darky who one 

 day met one of his brethren in a cabin, and in the course of the conversa- 

 tion fell to discussing good things to eat. Finally a wager was made, 

 and Dinah was to be the stake-holder, that Sambo could name the 

 best things for tickling the colored palate. He began with 'possum, 

 sweet potatoes and water melon and — "Hold on," said the other, his 

 under jaw dropping, "Dinah, give him the money, there's nothing left 

 for me to say." 



But when I remembered that we all looked at these things from a 

 different standpoint, and our experiences are different, so I presume 

 there may be something left for us to discuss. Then, after listening to the 

 discussion that has already taken place, and noting the variety of opin- 

 ions and diversity of methods and practice, I thought I might tell my 

 experience, and together we might talk over these points which we do 

 not thoroughly understand, or about which there is a difference of 

 opinion. 



The first thing I will mention is the choice of soil. In selecting a 

 location care should be exercised as regarding drainage, and if it is 

 not naturally drained, it should be artificially done by tile. 



I started from the very beginning of my career as a fruit grower to 



