STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. ab Og 
Prairie Orchards.” Time has not permitted me to ascertain even the points 
of these interesting papers. 
In recent years the Iowa Horticultural Sooiety appears to have been taking 
great interest in the importation and trials of Russian varieties of apples. 
pears, plums and cherries. It would appear that the Agricultural College 
furnishes the facilities for propagation and experiment, and that the Horti- 
cultural Society bears the expense of importation—$100 being appropriated 
for that purpose by the Horticultural Society in 1878, and in 1879 the Society 
advises additional appropriations for the same purpose. The Secretary of 
the Society has given much attention to the subject and a great deal of 
information relating to it may be gleaned from the Transactions for 1878, 
pages 25, 75 and 260. In the same volume we find a report from Mr. Gideon 
covering more than three pages, (p. 231,) and Swindling Tree Dealers get 
the compliments of the Society (p. 235,) in the form of a serious of resolu- 
tions addressed to the people of Iowa. Several other interesting topics are 
treated as the ‘*‘ Construction of Fruit Houses,” ‘‘ Botany in its Relations to 
Horticulture,” ‘* Utilizing Fruits,” &c. 
Iowa does not support a distinct Forestry Association, but that subject 
receives a large share of attention from the Horticultural Society which 
publishes a pamphlet of 24 to 32 pages entitled the Forestry Annual. for free 
distribution to all applicants. The Secretary reports progress and interest 
in the work of tree planting and a large demand for the Annual. 
Report of Michigan Pomological Society. 
As we go farther from nome the transactions of the horticu tural socie- 
ties possess less interest for those of us who seek the practical side of every- 
thing, but to those willing to turn to the application of the sciences to 
horticulture, the Transactions of the Michigan Pomological Society are 
very deeply interesting. In the Report for 1877, we notice an iliustrated 
paper on ‘‘ The American Grape Mildew,” (p. 134) that possesses more than 
locai interest. The same is true of ‘‘ The Chemistry of Fruit Ripening,’ 
(p. 149.) One whole article, covering eight large printed pages, is devoted 
to the subject of ‘‘ Transplanting for the Farm, the Orchard and the 
Garden.” A discussion of three pages is devoted to the ‘* Wiles of the 
Fruit Tree Agent,” (p. 231.) ‘‘Farm Adornment” is a subject more 
comprehensive in its scope than most papers presented on the subject of 
adornment, and implies, at least, that something more than the house, the 
yard, and the garden, are capable of improvement in appearance. ‘‘ Cross- 
breeding Fruits” is the title of another paper, which shows that there is 
some attention paid to improving fruits, even where the necessity is less 
than with us. A pleasant feature of the Michigan Transactions, is the 
Secretary’s Portfolio, in which are gathered and printed in form for perma- 
nent preservation, the short articles on the different branches of Horti- 
culture that came under the eye of the Secretary during the year. It may 
indeed be called the Secretary’s scrap-book which is thus printed and dis- 
tributed for the benefit of others. 
Transactions of Massachusetts Horticultural Society. 
Our attention is chiefly attracted here to a paper entitled ‘‘ Influence o1 
the Stock upon the Graft,” in which the writer takes the ground that graft- 
