274 ANNUAL REPORT 



sects or prevent their ravages by spraying when the insects 

 simply dispose of their egg on the side of the apples and do not 

 live in the foliage of the plant? How will the poison reach themf 

 Mr. Dartt. I think the theory is to apply the poison to the 

 insect that punctures the apple and lays the egg; that is, to 

 spray the trees with a solution of Paris green, or London purple. 

 Experimenters have found that applying too strong a solution in- 

 jures the leaves, but if applied reasonably strong it does no in- 

 jury to the trees while destroying the insects. They use one or 

 two sprayings early in the season while the apj)les are very 

 small, using the poison in such small quantities the rain will 

 wash it off without injury to fruit. The reports seem to indi- 

 cate that it can be made very effectual for the purpose desired. 



The subject of small fruits was taken up and the discussion 

 opened by Mr. Wilcox. 



THE CULTUEE OF SMALL FEUITS. 



By L. R. Wilcox, HaMings. 



Mr. Chairman: 



Eecognizing the entire impossibility for me to review this sub- 

 ject in a paper and to present the same in the short space of time 

 to be given I shall speak very briefly upon a few subjects con- 

 nected with this branch of pomology. It is a subject deserving 

 of the most , thorough attention and one which with the most 

 careful condensation, to present it properly, would require at 

 least a hundred pages of your reports, to do it anything like 

 adequate justice. 



The culture of small fruits is one of the most if not the most 

 important object requiring the consideration of this Society and 

 so, instead of presenting a paper I will open the dicussion with a 

 little talk, a few unstudied thoughts, suggestive of ideas to other 

 minds, or, as you might say, take a little ramble through the 

 fields of horticulture, plucking a flower here or trampling on a 

 stray weed, a false theory there, and perhaps taking a whack at 

 gregarious grubs and festive worms, that cross my path. 



All of us have at least two volumes in horticulture, one of 

 which is a large and nicely bound volume, imposing and magni- 

 ficent, with a title page full of fine spun theories, setting forth 



