«2 



THE GARDENER'S MONTHLY 



[Fkbruary, 



QUERIES. 



Pronunciation of gladiolus — A valued corres- 

 pondent writes in regard to the paragraph at page 

 29: "We say Gladiolus, because the penult is 

 short, and the rule is that when the penult is 

 short the accent falls on the ante-penult." 



" Now, if it be asked why the ' i ' is short, the 

 answer is given in the first rule in prosody in my 

 Latin grammar : 'A vowel before another vowel, 

 or a dipthong, is short;' to which follows a string 

 of exceptions, none applicable to gladiolus. 



"Then the case is hit by another rule : ' Diminu- 

 tives in olus, &c., — shorten the penult.' " 



Forestry. — A correspondent asks if we cannot 



give attention to this important branch of cul- 

 ture. We have done so — sometimes placing the 

 matter under our " Fruit and Vegetable Garden." 

 because it seemed a matter of profit — or as inci- 

 dents, under some other department. But we will 

 in future, give it a head of its own. 



Reprinting the first volume. — ^E. S. W. Ber- 

 lin, Mass., whites, " I wish you would reprint the 

 first volume of Gardener's Monthly, and make it 

 uniform size with the rest, (I have all) and I will 

 take one copy." 



[It would cost as much as an ordinary book of 

 that size, and take at least a thousand subscrip- 

 tions, and perhaps more of thom at $2.10 to make 

 expenses. — Ed. G. M.] 



SoRTICULTURAL ^OCIETIES. 



COMMUNICA TIONJS. 



KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



BY H. E. VAN DEMAN, GENEtA, KAN. 



The ninth annual meeting of this Society was 

 held at Manhattan, Kansas, on the 14th, 15th and 

 16th of December past. The most of the regular 

 and reliable meml)ers of the Society were pre- 

 sent, except Dr. Wm. M. Howsby, who lias grown 

 gray and become almost superannuated in the 

 labors of the cause ; and Mr. S. T. Kelsey who 

 "within the last year has removed from the State 

 to North Carolina, where he is now prosecuting 

 the business of practical fruit growing. 



Upon recommendation of the Committee on 

 Constitution and By-laws, the Constitution was so 

 altered that all ladies attending the meetings 

 were permitted to all the privileges of member- 

 ship without admission fee, and each of the Dis- 

 trict Horticultural Societies were entitled to two 

 delegates, and each of the other auxiliary So- 

 cieties of the State reporting to the Secretary of 

 the State Society were entitled to one delegate, 

 who should be admitted to annual membership 

 free of the usual fees. 



H. E. Van Deman, of the standing Committee 

 on Botany and Vegetable Physiology, called the 

 attention of the Society to the same matter to 



whirli reference was made at the previous meet- 

 ing at Fort Scott in June last, viz.: The death 

 and injury to trees and plants in Kansas during 

 the last two years. 



As before stated, the two prime and chief 

 causes were tlie drouth of the summer of 1874 

 and the defoliation by locusts the same season. 

 These so weakened their vital force that nearly 

 all kinds of trees and plants were not able to re- 

 sist the evaporating influences of the following 

 dry, cold weather without injury. Many died 

 outright even before the winter set in, which was 

 unusually dry, and when the spring came many 

 more were either dead or seriously weakened by 

 evaporation. The past summer has been further 

 witness to the same causes of injury, which was 

 shown by the feeble growth of many trees and 

 plants w'hen the season just past was most favor- 

 able to growth. The same causes he thought 

 might occur again, and if the true physiological 

 principles were understood, the horticulturists of 

 Kansas might be able to prevent or ameliorate 

 in a degree, the natural results. 



Mr. Cutter, of Junction City, spoke of the 

 damage sustained in 1874 by the parched condi- 

 tion of the earth killing the surface roots, and so 

 cutting off the supply of moisture usually taken 

 from the soil. Mulcliing he had found to coun- 

 teract this influence. 



