PROCEEDINGS OF THE FARMERS' CLUB. 247 



the fire and cooled. If it should not all be melted, or if it 

 appears too thin, stir in a small quantity of pure spirits ammo- 

 nia just before it is quite cool, and it will thicken it; then put 

 it away in a bottle for use. It is applied with a small brush, 

 when it will dry immediately and become impervious to water. 



It is an admirable composition to suppress or smother the eggs 

 or larvas of insects which may be concealed in the fissures of the 

 bark of trees, when applied as above. 



Another method of preparing shellac, is to take one ounce of 

 borax, dissolve it in hot water, place it in the water bath above 

 stated, and then put therein five ounces of shellac, place it over 

 the fire, stir until dissolved. It answers the same purpose as the 

 above. 



Mr. Chairman — as there has been so much said about pruning, 

 here and elsewhere, what I might say upon the subject may not 

 enlighten any one ; but I may say that the course I have been 

 pursuing for a few years past, is clearly sustained by the work 

 on Arboriculture, above mentioned. I have been so often laughed 

 at by inexperienced culturists, that I have often felt a sort of 

 diffidence in asserting what I thought to be the true mode of cul- 

 tivating fruits, &c. Being so thoroughly sustained by those cul- 

 turists whose talents are acknowledged as authority wherever 

 known, I will now speak with some considerable degree of confi- 

 dence of the course I am pursuing, as the only one that is calcu- 

 lated to end in favorable results. 



Of course, I cannot occupy the time of the meeting at present, 

 only to repeat briefly a few extracts from an essay upon the sub- 

 ject of pear culture, which I have submitted to the committee 

 of the Farmers' Club, of the American Institute, for their 

 approval or rejection, as they in their wisdom may decide. If it 

 is approved, it may be published with the accompanying illustra- 

 tions, which will combine all that I could say here in the course 

 of the next three hours. But to the task first above mentioned, 

 I mean to speak of winter pruning, properly so called ; to that 

 which follows the great frosts and which precedes the first move- 

 ments of vegetation — that is, towards the end of Februaiy. If 

 we prune before the great frosts come, we expose the cutting to 

 the air, to moisture, and to frost, long before the first movements 

 of the sap, which should come to heal the wound, and it follovv^s 

 that the bud on the end of branches, is often destroyed. 



