46 STATE POMOLOGICAL SOCIETY. 



Mr. Barker. Now that I am here, I want to say a word on that 

 line, in regard to this beautiful exhibition of apples ; that I can 

 carry back to the Massachusetts Horticultural Society such a report. 

 It does pay to take care of trees, as you have the evidence here 

 before you. I was talking with Prof. Saunders and these were the 

 words he used : "You Massachusetts fellows like to use the knife 

 pretty well and when you get done yon have a nice shaped tree with 

 foliage so thick that the air cannot circulate through and you get a 

 quantity of small fruit. You want to go home and tell others to 

 thin out more." Then I asked what his rule was, he said, ''Your 

 judgment ; but 3'ou want to thin out a tree sufficiently to* get the 

 light and a good circulation of air." He went and showed me his 

 orchard and showed me what he meant ; and I went home and 

 <;arried out those suggestions and I had fruit that, I am happy 

 to say, the Massachusetts Horticultural Society gave a prize, and 

 I am indebted to Mr. Saunders for it. 



Mr. Gilbert. In this connection I want to speak of the cater- 

 pillar. There has been for two years a remarkable visitation of 

 various tree caterpillars in the north part of this count}'. They have 

 travelled over the forests and the orcharcks in this county. Many 

 who own these orchards have called Ihem the ordinary caterpillar ; 

 but there is a distinction between the two. If this visitation is to 

 be repeated this year and they are to travel on to other fields among 

 the orchards, it is necessary that we should have a little informa- 

 tion that may be of importance to us. We travelled through an 

 experience of two years in connection with the work and we have 

 learned our lesson. If we had known at first, what we knew before 

 we got through it would have been thousands of dollars to our 

 benefit ; we would have saved the lives of thousands and thousands 

 of apple trees ; and that is, how to prevent this forest tree caterpillar 

 from traveling on to pastures new. When they eat the foliage off 

 from one tree, they travel on to others and if you would check their 

 work, you have simply to prevent their approach to the tree. We 

 tried everything that the ingenuity of man could invent for the pur- 

 pose of keeping the caterpillers from going upon the tree. We 

 finally discovered one thing that was effective and that was to cover 

 the trunk of the tree with a coat of sulphur and lard ; and no cater- 

 pillar will travel over it. The sulphur protects the lard from the 

 efl^ects of the heat and it remains there. Tar will stick, if applied 

 on card paper" and not coming in contact with the bark ; and was 



