secretary's corner. 159 



intrinsic value of the books but more for the memory of the loved hands that 

 have used them. 



The lyAST OF Earth of John S. Harris. — There is not one of our mem- 

 bers but will be deeply pained to hear of the death of our much loved and 

 time honored fellow member, John S. Harris. He was taken down with an 

 attack of the grippe late in January from which he recovered in part, though 

 not sufficiently to overcome a run of typhoid fever, which at the end of three 

 weeks caused his death. He anticipated the possibility of a fatal ending to 

 this sickness and in his methodical and careful way made proper disposal of 

 his various interests in preparation for such a contingency. The end came at 

 12.30 a. m. on Sunday, March 24th, peacefully and painlessly at the last. 



The funeral took place at La Crescent village, in the Presbyterian church, 

 of which he had long been a member. A full attendance of his friends and 

 neighbors was there and followed the remains to its last resting place on a 

 sightly hill about half a mile from the church and the same distance from his 

 home. Here we left all that is mortal of our old and true friend. A number 

 of numbers of the society from a distance gathered in honor and love of his 

 memory: F. W. Kimball, of Austin; W. S. Widmoyer, of Dresbach; O. M. 

 Lord, Minnesota City; J. M. Underwood, Lake City; Wyman Elliot and A W. 

 Latham, of Minneapolis. On behalf of the society, Mr. Underwood spoke 

 briefly at the church of the life and service of the deceased in connection with 

 its work. 



Mr. Harris left an unfinished work of great importance in his experiment 

 orchards and elsewhere, which now falls into the hands of his son, Frank I. 

 Harris, who is quite familiar with it and will be able to give it the needed 

 care. We expect to find in hiiu a worthy successor to so honored a father. 



Hybridizing- Carnations. — Projecting above the llower, winch 

 shows better if the petals are split down, are two horn-like growths. 

 These are the pistils or female organs of the flower. The anthers 

 contain the pollen. In hybridizing, this pollen is removed from one 

 flower and spread upon the pistils of the flower which we wish to 

 l)ear the seed. This is done by tweezers or a camel's hair brush and 

 in some instances by simply taking the flower and scattering the 

 pollen over the pistils. Soon after the flower begins to wither and 

 the petals close together. This is an indication that fertilization has 

 taken place. 



After fertilization has taken place, the seed pod continues its 

 growth for four or five weeks and usually ripens its seed within six 

 to eight weeks after the date of fertilization. After the seeds are 

 ripened they are carefully sown and treated the same as the seeds of 

 any choice greenhouse plant. — C. W. W. 



