REPORTS OF COUNTY SOCIETIES. 217 



to October. Early apples, with the exception of Maiden Blush and a 

 few other good keeping varieties, were worth practically nothing, and 

 /and the main part of the crop rotted on the ground. 



Twig blight of the apple did considerable damage. Varieties most 

 affected by it in this section are Lowell, Willow Twig, Stark and Tal- 

 man Sweet. I shall root out Talman and Lowell on this account, as I 

 believe they infect other trees. The Ben Davis has not only sustained 

 its good reputation, but has gained several points in the estimation of 

 planters and buyers. In pears the "Ben Davis place" is still held by 

 the Keiffer, in plums by the Wild Goose, and in cherries by the Early 

 Richmond, with the Montgomery a close second. 



The Kansas raspberry has behaved well the past season. The 

 fruit is large and fine and the plant is strong, robust and healthy. The 

 strawberry crop was practically ruined by cold weather after the fruit 

 had set. Nearly everything in the fruit line made a remarkably good 

 ^growth and is going into winter quarters in good shape. 



G. A. Turner, Meadville, Mo. 



COLE COUNTY. 



We have 35 members in our Society. Officers — J. W. Edwards, 

 President, Jefferson City ; J. A. Hunter, Vice-President, Bass ; A. J. 

 Davis, Secretary, Jefferson City ; Walter Barker, Treasurer, Jefferson 

 City; members enrolled are 35. Our Society extends thanks to J. C. 

 Evans, N. F. Murray and A. Nelson, for attendance and valuable infor- 

 mation so freely given at our regular meeting in February last. Also, 

 the following members of our State Society : G. B. Lamm, Sedalia; R. 

 T. Murphy and J, L. Erwin of Callaway ; Albert Newman, Rolla ; Jno. 

 L. Bagby, New Haven. We extend to the State Society a cordial in- 

 vitation to hold their next meeting at Jefferson City, where they will 

 receive a royal reception from the people of our town, and our local 

 society will feast them on strawberries and cream. We made a small 

 display of fruit at our regular meeting in November, and the prospects 

 of our county ranking as one ot the fruit-producing counties of the 



State is more favorable than it was one year ago. 



« 

 Another year has passed with its pleasures and profits, disappoint- 

 ments and failures; but to the true horticulturist his occupation 

 means health and pleasure, with or without profit. The orchards of 

 our county produced very heavy crops of choice fruit the past season. 

 The hot winds of September caused the fruit to drop badly, and our 

 farmers gathered it up and dumped all varieties together into a com- 



