172 HISTORY nF HoHTK^L'I/rURK IX .MINNESOTA. 



For trial— Ht'd Astrachan. iSt. Lawrence, Autiiniii Strawberry, Fall Stripe. 



Early Winter — Price's Sweet, Tallnian Sweet, Golden Russet, Little Ro- 

 nianite. 



It was decided to let the people choose on the dittereut varieties of crabs 

 for themselves. 



Pears — report one variety — Flemish Beauty. 



Moved to place Fameuse in the second list. 



The subject of apph' and pear tree bliuiit was tlien taken up for discussion 

 informally. 



Col. Stevens said that there was a vast ditterence of opinion on this sub- 

 ject ; some thought it an insect or fungus. His trees had thus far escaped, 

 and although all eftbrts had been made at an investigation, it was still a mys- 

 tery as much as ever. He did not think the hortictdturists of the State had 

 much to fear from it. 



Gen. Nutting desired to say that when it was in order he wished to call up 

 the matter of having a good delegation to the Pomological Association. 



Mr. Smith declared— recurring to the blight question — that he had suffered 

 a good deal of late from that cause, and he thought it was caused by elec- 

 tricity somehow ; that the blight always came on with extreme heat follow- 

 ing a thunder shower. 



Mr. Harris said he had spent for weeks, an hour per day, trying to find out 

 about blight, but he was no wiser now than formerly; still he hoped that iu- 

 (piiry would go on. He had lost by it, every bearing pear tree but one. It 

 did the apple tree no particular damage, although it killed the pear tree. He 

 hoped if any one knew anything about blight, they Avould tell it. His soil 

 was a sandy clay loam with clay subsoil. 



Mr. Gould thought that a tree, when in a weakened state from any cause, 

 was most subject to blight. Apple trees are mostly afiiicted after becoming 

 two years of age. Transcendent crabs and Hyslops seemed most readily 

 aftected by blight. 



Mr. Ford did not believe in the insect theory. He believed in locality and 

 soil. He had never lost more than two or three trees by blight. 



Mr. Dart — Mr. Ford in the chair — said he had suffered a good deal by this 

 trouble. He agreed Avith Mr. Smith that it must be attributed to an over- 

 charge of electricity. He thought there might be enough to kill young and 

 tender twigs, whilst it would not kill the tree. He had one or two thousand 

 trees affected more or less. He did not know whether to discard them all, 

 throw them away or not. It was an important fact that some trees were 

 worse affected than others. The Transcendent and Golden Russet had suf- 

 fered worst ; the Tetofsky somewhat. He thought it an error of some speaker 

 here, that the blight was little to be feared. 



Col. Stevens said that Mr. Harrison, who formerly lived at Bellevue, 111., 

 had been troubled with blight twenty years ago ; that, therefore, it was no 

 new thing, but that after some three years it quite disappeared. 



Prof. Folwell having made his appearance in the hall, was, on motion of 

 Judge Baker, invited to a seat on the platform by the side of the Chairman. 



