APPLES. 205 



have shown in my reference to the forest giants, and the same principle 

 is now held to he a fundamental law in the successful production of all 

 classes of live stock or crops of any kind. Earth is one of the best things 

 I have ever known to aid a diseased tree to recover from injury. At the 

 time I mentioned being in Florida there was a disease called mal de 

 goma, or foot rot, killing the old orange trees. One large tree I examined 

 the top of, which was nearly dead (no new limbs having been made the 

 previous year), had but two small live roots— the bark on all the other 

 roots being entirely dead— the dead bark extending up the trunk of the 

 tree more than a foot. I told the owner to remove the earth around the 

 base of the tree and wash it thoroughly with the wash I used on the pear 

 tree, heretofore alluded to, and then bank up with earth a foot above the 

 dead bark. He did so in April. I saw the tree the next December. It 

 had made a remarkable growth, some of the new sprouts measured nine 

 feet in length. Of course, in this case, the hot wash aided materially in 

 producing such a growth, but without the banking of earth I presume the 

 tree would have died. In this climate, deprived of the necessary moist- 

 ure which is always to be found in sufficient quantity in the atmosphere 

 in the most favored localities where apples grow, we must in some way 

 give the tree advantages which would not be needed in a climate where 

 the environments of the tree were right for its perfect development. 

 Several hundred men have planted and boxed up their trees this last fall, 

 and the public will be able to testify to the value of the plan by another 

 year. I trust all those who are looking for light to aid them in growing 

 apples in this state will carefully consider this plan. 



DISCUSSION. 



Pres. Elliot: Now, gentlemen, yon have heard these two 

 papers, now go to work and pick them to pieces. We do 

 not want anything of this kind to come in here unless we are 

 satisfied it is right. We have had too many of these things 

 heretofore that have been of no use to us. 



M. Pearce: I take altogether a different view of the case. 

 Now the best teacher on the face of the earth is nature. You 

 take any tree that starts to grow on the prairie and the very 

 first thing it does is to branch low. That is nature, and if you 

 let that tree go on and never molest it in any shape or form, 

 that tree will live, it will never die. Now the form of that tree 

 will be a low top. You top a burr oak tree on the prairie and 

 the branches come out low down. Now for years I have been 

 pursuing that plan. Your boxing and wrapping is all super- 

 flous and unnecessary. Come right down to nature and you 

 will never fail. 



Wm. Somerville: I will say that I am in favor of protection 

 of any kind. I have never tried the experiment of Mr. Brand. 



