SECRETARY'S CORNER. 431 



The Committee ox Forestky Legislation.— This committee, 

 appointed as a result of the actiou of our society at the summer 

 meeting-, is to hold its first meetiiiii' Tuesday, Sept. 20th. The com- 

 mittee at present consists of the follo\vin<^ gentlemen: D. R. McGin- 

 nis and C. W. Ilorr, of St. Paul, Prof. W. \V. Pendergast, Prof. S. B. 

 Green and Capt. J. N. Cross. At least two additions will be made to 

 this list. At this meeting a number of others interested in the sub- 

 ject have been invited to attend, and it is expected that substantial 

 progress will be made towards the preparation of the proposed for- 

 estry law. 



Close Root Pruning of Transplanted Trees.— A late number 

 of "The National Nurseryman" contains an interesting editorial 

 on the new methods of root pruning^ trees for transplanting as ad- 

 vocated and practiced by H. M. Stringfellow. This method consists 

 in cutting the roots back to an inch or so in length and shortening- 

 the top accordingly, evidently a practice confined to small sized 

 trees. At least one thoroughly practical fruit-grower has become a 

 convert to Mr. Stringfellow's theorj^ Mr. J. H. Hale, the noted peach 

 grower of Connecticut and Georgia. Mr. Hale says on this subject: 



"I am glad to state that the close root pruning which was prac- 

 ticed when planting our entire orchard of one hundred thousand 

 trees at Fort Valley, Georgia, proved to be the most successful 

 operation we ever practiced, less than one-half of one per cent of the 

 trees failing- to grow, and all making the most vigorous and even 

 growth I have ever seen in any orchard in America. The orchard 

 is now three j-ears old, and gave us an enormous crop of fruit this 

 past season. I am thoroughly in favor of this system of root j^run- 

 ing." 



This practice is not, I believe, altogether new. In a limited way, I 

 have followed it in planting my vineyards, cutting back the roots to 

 about three inches, always with the best results. 



Is anything, indeed, to be gained by trying to make room for long 

 roots when the tops can be correspondingly shortened? What is 

 the experience of others in our climate? 



HONivSTY IN HOKTICULTUKI:.- Some of the agricultural journal- 

 ists of the country have been caught bj' tlu' following description 

 of a very taking vegetable, which appeared in the daily papers: 



c.\hha(;ks on vi.nks— a nkw uk.m. in \ ki;ktahi,es .n.vdk hv NATrKK in iowa. 



L.\KK Pakk, Iowa, Aug. <>.— rt. hi. HutTutii, a market trardener living near here, 

 has one of the most reiiiarkal)le vouetaljles on record. In his cabbane patcli hist 

 year occurred a "sport," by which a plant, instead of makin>^a head in true cab- 

 biijie style, assumed the form of a vine. .\f tlie axis of its leaves thirteetj cab- 

 baije heads of about two poiitxls weight were formed. Tlie plant went to seed, 

 something uiuisu;d for f^rst year cabbage. 'I'lie seeds were formeil in the usual 

 manner, all tlie earliest cabbaneson the vine throwing out seetls stalk. Mr. Huf- 

 funi saved the seed, and, on planting; it this year, it yrew well atul many of the 

 plants have assumed the vine-like habit of tlie parent, although the majority 

 have returned to tlie natural form of cabbaKc. It is lielieved, however, that the 

 vine variety can be establisheil. 



."^Ir. HutTum has been experimenting with the plants and finds that if the heads 

 arc cut oil as soon as they attain a weiKht of about one pound, the vine, like cu- 

 cumbers, will continue to form a lar^e number of heads. The variety of cabbajie 

 from which the sport occurred was Salzer's LiKhtninn. The vine cabb.-i^e is the 

 most Krotesiiue appearing: plant imaginable. The loaves are thrown out in i)air>, 

 and the cabbaKCs lie arr)und under them like pumpkins. The vines are a bout den 



