TRIMMING THE ORCHARD. 443 



do not remember . that it ever bore a good crop again. 



Mr. E. A. Smith: This subject was all threshed out yesterday. 

 Quite a number supported the theory to prune when the knife is 

 sharp. As I said yesterday, pruning should be done at some time 

 of the year when nature will assist in healing the wound more 

 quickly than it would at other times. I believe June is the best 

 month for pruning trees. I have noticed that large limbs begin to 

 decay where they are not waxed or painted. The deduction is that 

 limbs should be cut off before they become too large. Another 

 gentleman spoke about maple trees being weakened in vitality when 

 tapped. I come from Vermont where they have sugar orchards, 

 and I found it was not necessary to bore into the tree two or three 

 inches to get sap, but when the wound did heal over there was 

 always a decayed spot, and the tree never got over it. Professor 

 Hansen also spoke of the antiseptic treatment of the knife in surgery, 

 and I wish he would tell us when we go from a diseased to a healthy 

 tree with the same knife and do any pruning whether disease can be 

 communicated. What solution should the knife be dipped in to 

 make it antiseptic? I would like to know what he uses. 



Prof. Hansen : We try to keep one saw or knife for diseased 

 trees and another for healthy trees. In regard to disinfection, 

 I think any solution of carbolic acid would do. 



Mr. Yahnke : I do not believe the people generally understand 

 what is meant by the term "when the knife is sharp." When your 

 knife is sharp you can cut out little limbs that you can handle with 

 the knife, and it will never hurt the tree. That is all right, and that 

 ought to be done too. 



THE POSSIBILITIES OF FLORICULTURE. 



C. S. HARRISON, YORK, NEB. 



Hunting for Gems. — If in "the gold mine in the front yard" 

 there should be found a mine of precious gems, what zest would be 

 given to research ! Yet it is a fact that we are on the verge of the 

 unknown. Behind a thin veil the good Father has much in store for 

 us ; we can fold the curtains aside, enter in and take possession of 

 our own. We are millionaires if we only knew it and would just 

 reach out and take our inheritance. A man finds a precious dia- 

 mond like the Kohinoor or Mountain of Light or Star of the South, 

 and his fortune is made. 



Ancient rulers reveled in the possession of precious stones. 

 When Persia was invaded by the Saracens, they captured a mag- 

 nificent carpet which was one of the marvels of the world. It was 

 450 feet long and ninety feet wide, and had a border worked with 

 precious stones to represent a garden of the most beautiful flowers. 

 The leaves were formed of emeralds and other green colored gems, 

 while the buds and blossoms were composed of opals, pearls, rubies, 



