STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 371 



M. Smith, of Green Bay, was elected president and Prof. Wm. 

 Trelease, of Madison, secretary. President Smith, after a brief 

 review of the work of the year, which showed that the society 

 was in a flourishing condition and that its affairs had been man- 

 aged with economy, gave an interesting detailed report of the 

 Wisconsin exhibits at the World's Exposition at New Orleans. 

 Mr. Smith had just returned from the exposition where he had 

 been doing service as alternate commissioner and was familiar 

 with the situation of affairs. He stated that the horticultural 

 society had on exhibition about 1,000 plates of apples and was 

 brought into competition with fourteen states, several of them 

 noted as being the best apple growing states in America, and 

 Wisconsin carried off twenty-four prizes, being a number more 

 than was awarded to any other society. At the evening session 

 the president's address was discussed at considerable length and 

 many valuable points brought out in relation to packing, trans- 

 porting and keeping fruits for such exhibitions. This was fol- 

 lowed by the reports of Mr. Tuttle, Gideon, and your delegate, 

 on the condition of horticulture in Minnesota. Mr. A. L. Hatch, 

 of Eichland County, read a paj)er treating on parasitic fungi 

 and noxious insects which he showed to be more dreaded 

 by the fruit grower than the severe cold of winter, and in very 

 strong language condemned the practice of planting so exten- 

 sively of Siberians and worthless varieties of fruit which in 

 years of plenty would not pay for gathering and would be left 

 upon the ground where it had fallen, to decay, breed insects and 

 propagate fungus. He asserts that all of our trees are more 

 or less affected in leaf, fruit, and plant by poisonous fungus, 

 that makes its growth by absorbing the life of the plant, that 

 the malady is increasing to an alarming extent and should 

 be met with promj)t attention by the horticultural society. 

 This neighborhood and other parts of the State had been visited 

 with the grape rot and mildew. He recommends raking up 

 and burning all fallen leaves and litter as a preventive 

 measure. 



A business meeting of the society was held Wednesday even- 

 ing to receive the report of the committee on articles upon ex- 

 hibition, which was followed by a paper from the prince of 

 genial horticulturists, J. S. Stickney, of Wauwatosa. He is the 

 man who, while in the tree business, being asked for a list of va- 

 rieties for profit in an orchard of one hundred trees, recom- 

 mended ninety-nine Duchess and one Duchess. 



