1886.] SOCIETIES. (34J 



NORTH-EAST CHEMICO-AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, 



IRELAND. 



THE usual inontlily meeting of this Society was held in tlicir 

 offices, Upper Arthur Street, Belfast. Mr. W. Charley, D.L., 

 presided, and said : Before calling upon Mr. Torbitt to proceed with 

 his paper on " The Cultivation of Potatoes," he would like to ask 

 Dr. Hodges a question on another subject. The potato had been a 

 delicate plant for many years in Ireland, and some of that delicacy 

 had been attributed to over-cultivation, and perhaps too much 

 forcing in various ways. It had struck him as a peculiarity that a 

 particular tree for many years had been exceedingly delicate in the 

 north of Ireland, which was not in his own recollection distinguished 

 for that weakness — the common spruce. It originally came from 

 Norway, and for many years past it was showing evidence of disease. 

 The leaves became withered, the plants had a weak appearance, and 

 the timber became decayed. He found that the same leature was 

 observable over the north of Ireland. He was not so sure about 

 other parts of the country, but the subject of reafforesting Ireland 

 was of great importance, and it would be well if the Society would 

 endeavour to throw some light on this particular tree. He had 

 given up the use of this tree, feeling that its growth w^as not to be 

 depended on. He would like Dr. Hodges to say whether this was 

 owing to the tendency to failure and the desire of nature to repro- 

 duce a different kind, or a new specimen of the same kind ? He 

 could not say whether a cliange of climate was sufficient to account 

 for it. Another tree, the noble fir, placed in the most exposed 

 situations, stood quite firm and kept its foliage, while the spruce 

 fir, in the same position, had became decayed. It was a desirable 

 thing to know that this variety of fir would be healthy and bear the 

 climate, and it was equally desirable to know that the spruce fir 

 could not be trusted. 



Dr. Hodges said the first thing was to notice whether it was 

 general or confined to certain localities ; and, secondly, whether it 

 was due to tlie depredations of microscopic insects. 



Mr. Jellie said he could never see any weakness in the spruce fir 

 at his place, except after heavy storms. The whole thing could be 

 accounted for in this way : that the spruce as it developed had a 

 very heavy top, which caught the wind in storms ; for, until he had 

 seen the root shaken after a storm, there w\t,s no more delicacy in 

 the spruce than in the larch. 



