70 MISSOURI STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



quently during the season. Kirkwood lies pretty bigh, and as the rain 

 is apt to follow the rivers and the timber belts, we are frequently left 

 high and dry, having the Missouri on the north, the Mississippi on the 

 east and the Meramec on the west and south. For five weeks just 

 prior to the equinox, we had never a shower that would refresh vege- 

 tation and sink into the soil one inch. Flowers, shrubs and shade trees,, 

 especially the magnificent Norway maple, showed signs of distress in 

 the topmost boughs, bat all soon recovered when rain did fall. There 

 were but few days, however, which could be called scorching hot and 

 the mercury away up in the nineties. Then indeed it would have been 

 appropriate to quote Bryant's brief poem on midsummer : 



A power is on the earth and in the air, 



From which the vital spirit shrinks afraid, 



And shelters him in nooks of deepest shade 

 From the hot steam and from the fiery glare. 

 Look forth upon the earth : her thousand plants 



Are smitten ; even the dark and sun-loving maize 



Faints in the field beneath the torrid blaze ; 

 The herd beside the shaded fountain pants ; 

 For life is driven from all the landscape brown. 



The bird has sought his tree, the snake his den, 



The trout floats dead in the hot stream, and men 

 Drop by the sun-stroke in the populous town, 



As if the clay of fire had dawned, and sent 



Its deadly breath into the firmament. 



AGRICULTURE. 



I cannot omit from these notes and observations a few words on 

 agriculture, for which I trust it will not be necessary to make an excuse. 



The winter wheat in our section was greatly injured by ice and 

 sleet, which settled so close upon the soil and remained so long as to 

 exclude all air from the growing wheat, and clover also, and I have 

 noticed that under such conditions these two plants suffer death gen- 

 erally ; hence a small crop of wheat and a scarcity of hay. Clover hay 

 brings higher prices than timothy where as a rule the reverse is the 

 case. 



Maize — Corn good and in places excellent. Potatoes, both sweet 

 and Irish, are abundant and cheap. 



GRAPES. 



Some years ago many of our small vineyards were first neglected 

 and then dug out, and the land sown to grass as more profitable and 

 less vexatious ; the reason given was the almost certain destruction of 

 the grapes by rot. Scientists will tell you all about the kind of rot.. 



