HORTICULTURE AT THE STATE FAIR. BDL 
tion that the climate and the soil are all right for the more common fruits, and 
now they are making a noble effort to force recognition from the state agricul- 
tural society. And that recognition took the form this year of a reduction of the 
premiums offered for displays. Any one who has seen and enjoyed the beautiful 
showing of fruits and flowers in the south end of the agricultural building must 
feel something of indignation at the fact that all those beauties are competing 
for a beggarly $500 premium.’’—Pioneer Press, Sept. 13. 
It is evident that the absence of pool selling and in other respects 
the cleansing of the moral atmosphere of the grounds is bringing 
into prominence the strictly agricultural elements of the fair 
which have heretofore occupied comparatively obscure positions. 
It is not that the horticultural exhibit is better than before that the 
press have taken so much more notice of it this year,but that ours is 
becoming in verity an agricultural fair. With acontinuance of the 
present wholesome policy we may expect still greater recognition 
of ours and kindred interests tothe great and lasting benefit of the 
real tillers of the soil. 
MULCHING TO RETARD BLOSSOMING. 
In order to test the truth of the old theory that a mulch applied 
when the ground is deeply frozen will, by keeping the frost in the 
ground and the feeding roots frozen until late in the spring, change 
the time of blossoming of the trees so treated, we took three sets of 
trees in our bearing orchard last February and mulched half of 
each set with litter about ten inches deep extending six feet from 
the trunk of each tree. The ground was bare at the time and frozen 
to an unusual depth, and, as the frost came out very gradually this 
season on account of the lack of usual rains, the ground remained 
frozen under this mulch long after it had thawed out about the 
other trees, thus giving opportunity for a very perfect test of this 
theory. The varieties tested were the Duchess, Wealthy and Whit- 
ney, and during this month the mulched and the unmulched trees 
blossomed freely and at exactly the same time. To add to the con- 
clusiveness of this test we will give an incident in our experience 
this season, which seems to make it certain that the time of the open- 
ing of the leaves and blossoms is controlled entirely by the tem- 
perature of the air and is independent of the action of the roots. 
While examining a long row of Hibernals that was in bloom we 
came upon a tree, also in full bloom, that looked pinched and whose 
foliage was peculiar, and, upon further examination,it seemed to be 
quite loose in the ground. We pulled on it and, behold, it was only 
a stub stuck in the ground without so much as a sign of a root. 
Pocket gophers had been at work under the heavy mulch and had 
used the roots of that tree to eke out their winter supply. The top 
of the tree had gone on, and at the bidding of the genial warmth of 
spring had performed its proper functions without aid or comfort 
from the roots, and had done it at precisely the same time as the 
adjoining trees which were enjoying full connection with their 
roots. Mulchingis a good thing to conserve moisture and prevent 
dry and deep freezing.—N. W. Agri. 
