STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 125 



Geneva. He took me into a little plum orchard of about thirty 

 trees, surrounded by a high picket fence. The trees were then 

 loaded with fruit, only about three per cent, of which showed any 

 injury from the "Little Turk" or any other insects. A dozen hens 

 were kept confined there, and their natural desire and necessity for 

 animal food, held them close enough to the insect bill of fare to 

 reduce the loss of fruit to a very moderate limit. Outside this en- 

 closure were a few plum trees belonging to the same orchard, 

 whose fruit was entirely ruined by the curculio. 



Mr. Grideon. The hens have the range of our plum orchard, and 

 the trees are full of curculios. 



The Secretary. Are the hens confined there ? 



Mr. Gideon. No. 



The Secretary. That tells the stor3\ They are not obliged 

 to eat curculio, for they can find animal food that they like better. 

 You can compel hens to eat potato bugs by confinement, and 

 when the appetite is created, they will eat them voluntarily, as 

 some of our human folks will tobacco. 



Mr. Emery. Does the benefit from hens go over to next year ? 



Secretary Gibbs. In a measure doubtless, as the hens take 

 them mostly in the chrysalis state. 



Mr. Gideon. There is a native blue plum in the Lake Minne- 

 tonka district, similar to the damson, and I have heard of another 

 native at Lake Osakis that is said to be as lar>?e as a hen's egg. 



Mr. Whipple. I am well acquainted with the wild fruit of Lake 

 Osakis. It is no larger than we have at Lake Minnetonka. I 

 have been experimenting with the hen and insect question for ten 

 years. Confining the hens compels them to destroy the insects. 

 From a clump of plum trees near ray house, where the hens have 

 their promenade, we get plenty of fruit, when other trees not so 

 protected, yield none. 



Secretary Gibbs. We are continually receiving accounts of new 

 and desirable fruit in various parts of the state, but as yet the so- 

 ciety has failed to utilize this information. I am convinced that 

 the onb' way to do it, is to have some one authorized to search 

 these things out, and if promising, to pack and distribute cions. 



Mr. Gideon. I think an agent should be sent out for this pur- 

 pose. 



Truman M. Smith. Mr. Lord sent me a box of his plums, and 

 [ think they were the best native plums I ever saw.* 



*NOTE BY THE SECRETARY. — Since this meeting I have visited Mr. Lord 

 and examined his trees, and would recommend applications to him for cions 

 for grafting on common wild plum trees. This may get me into trouble with 

 Mr. Lord, but I trust he will overcome his modesty and sell the cions. 



